Plugging In

Energy and the Environment

Every electron is not neutral

ISO-New England’s policies are blind and shortsighted

By Philip Landrigan and Anna Goldman Electricity, Energy 0 Comments Dec 4, 2021

WE NEW ENGLANDERS have a spectacular opportunity to move rapidly from polluting fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy. This transition will benefit us all: It will slow climate change, reduce pollution, save lives, and preserve New England’s beautiful environment for our children and their children. A wholesale transition to renewable energy will also save us(...)

Power politics in Maine

Through proxies, Mass. seeks to overturn law backed by 59% of Maine voters

By Bruce Mohl Electricity, Energy 0 Comments Nov 30, 2021

MASSACHUSETTS OFFICIALS are counting on a Maine court to overturn a law passed in early November by 59 percent of Maine voters so a power line carrying hydroelectricity from Quebec can resume construction. The legal arguments in favor of overturning the law seem convincing, but victory in this case may come at a high cost.(...)

Learning the ins and outs of charging your car

Easy availability, cost certainty are key concerns

By Brian Gemmell and Jake Navarro 0 Comments Nov 28, 2021

OVER THE NEXT few weeks, thousands of motorists will be traveling the highways of Massachusetts and beyond to see friends and family for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Amidst the multiple stops for fuel and snacks will be the occasional range anxiety that occurs when one is driving with a dwindling fuel tank while hoping(...)

Power grid operator needs a makeover

Status quo, special interests need to give way at ISO New England

By Jennifer Benson and Amy Boyd Electricity, Energy 0 Comments Nov 26, 2021

THE LARGEST OFFSHORE wind project in the nation is coming to the waters off Massachusetts, setting our Commonwealth up to be a global leader in clean energy that can deliver on the promise of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and creating good-paying green jobs across the state. But to get there, and to pave the way(...)

Maine DEP suspends license of hydro transmission line

Fate of Mass.-financed project now in hands of the courts

By Bruce Mohl Charlie Baker, Electricity, Energy 0 Comments Nov 23, 2021

THE MAINE Department of Environmental Protection on Tuesday suspended the license it issued for a Massachusetts-financed transmission line carrying hydroelectricity from Quebec until a court either halts enforcement of or overturns a law passed by voters on November 3 blocking the project. The decision by Melanie Loyzim, the commissioner of the department, means the fate(...)

Electricity supplier gets attack on AG wrong

It’s time to pull the plug on this predatory industry

By Nathan Forster Electricity, Energy 0 Comments Nov 23, 2021

THIS WINTER, residential customers should be wary of competitive electric suppliers taking advantage of rising electric bills to lure new customers. We have all heard the stories of these predatory suppliers, and many of us have experienced their high-pressure sales tactics – on the phone, at the door, through a mailer – promising cheaper electricity.(...)

Mass.-financed power line in Maine is a mess

Rejected by voters, project pursues court, regulatory options

By Bruce Mohl Charlie Baker, Energy, Environment 0 Comments Nov 23, 2021

AFTER A DAY-LONG Zoom hearing Monday on the proposed transmission line carrying hydroelectricity from Quebec into Maine, there is only one conclusion: What a mess. The transmission line, designed to bring power from Canadian hydroelectric producer Hydro-Quebec to the New England electric grid through a converter station in Lewiston, Maine, is being paid for by(...)

Baker’s new biomass rules are step backward

Roll back climate, forest protections enacted in 2012

By Mary S. Booth Charlie Baker, Energy, Environment 0 Comments Nov 19, 2021

HERE’S A QUICK tip for greening our heat and power: if you need to set it on fire, it isn’t clean. That should be the guiding principle for the state’s new Commission on Clean Heat, which could finally shed some light on a sector rife with methane leaks, oil spills, and wood smoke. Skeptics may(...)

A first step on offshore wind

Stories from Vineyard Wind’s ceremonial groundbreaking

By Bruce Mohl Charlie Baker, Energy, Environment, Offshore Wind 0 Comments Nov 19, 2021

FEDERAL, STATE, and local officials gathered on Cape Cod Thursday for a ceremonial groundbreaking for Vineyard Wind, the first large-scale offshore wind farm in the United States. It was a day for back-slapping, congratulations, and the telling of stories, but it was also the dawn of what many hope will be an energy revolution in(...)

Canadians call for new era of power grid diplomacy

Say Maine vote highlights need for greater regional cooperation

By Jean Charest, Pierre-Olivier Pineau and Philip Duguay Electricity, Energy 0 Comments Nov 14, 2021

FORMER QUEBEC premier Robert Bourassa passed away 25 years ago last month. In his 1985 book, Power from the North, he presented a passionate, articulate, and convincing argument to pursue the development of northern Québec’s hydropower resources. He saw US and Canadian northeastern markets as lucrative in the long-term and feared the dangers of the(...)