Plugging In

Energy and the Environment

Angry Somerset residents elect ally to select board

With town’s future unclear, Smith claims 69-29 victory

By Bruce Mohl Electricity, Energy 0 Comments Apr 13, 2021

SOMERSET VOTERS, angry about noisy and dirty businesses operating out of an industrial site that was supposed to be a staging ground for the state’s offshore wind industry, elected an ally to the Board of Selectmen on Monday. Allen Smith racked up a huge victory, defeating David Berube by a margin of 69-29 percent. Smith’s(...)

New Bedford mayor calls offshore wind ‘generational opportunity’

But Mitchell worries about losing out in race for onshore investments

By Bruce Mohl Electricity, Energy, Offshore Wind 0 Comments Apr 12, 2021

NEW BEDFORD MAYOR Jon Mitchell is of two minds about Vineyard Wind, which after lengthy regulatory delays seems poised to finally get underway. The mayor is excited about the potential for offshore wind farms to transform New Bedford the way they have many older European port cities, but he also worries that Massachusetts may be(...)

Municipal Light Plant elections loom large

‘Local utilities’ oversee 14% of state energy mix

By Clare Kelly Electricity, Energy 0 Comments Apr 7, 2021

WHEN GOV. CHARLIE BAKER signed the Next Generation Roadmap bill, Massachusetts became legally required to reduce its emissions 50 percent by 2030, and be net-zero by 2050. The backbone of achieving those mandates is electrifying our transportation and building systems and powering these systems with clean electricity. But 14 percent of our state’s energy mix(...)

Baker pulls plug on Springfield biomass power plant

DEP cites construction delay, health and environmental impacts

By Bruce Mohl Electricity, Energy 0 Comments Apr 2, 2021

THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION pulled the plug on a controversial biomass power plant in Springfield on Friday amid growing pushback from opponents who viewed the burning of wood to produce electricity as a threat to public health and the environment. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection sent a letter to Palmer Renewable Energy telling the company(...)

Climate change already causing power grid issues

100-year storms are happening more frequently now

By Kathleen Q. Abernathy and Gordon van Welie Energy 0 Comments Apr 1, 2021

IN THE WAKE of the Texas tragedy, when the extreme cold weather literally froze the power grid, took out electricity and fuel supplies, and wreaked havoc on millions of lives, questions have been raised about whether it could happen here in New England. At ISO New England, our number one priority is to maintain a(...)

Biden sets big goal for offshore wind

Seeks 30,000 megawatts, 80,000 jobs by 2030

By Colin A. Young Offshore Wind 0 Comments Mar 29, 2021

STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE PIPELINE of offshore wind developments that will follow the first-in-the-nation Vineyard Wind I project came into clearer view Monday when the Biden administration announced a goal of creating almost 80,000 jobs by tapping into 30,000 megawatts of offshore wind power by 2030. Between Vineyard Wind, the 800-megawatt project in line(...)

How to build an industry to support offshore wind

Baker prioritizes federal investment, Mariano says state must pony up

By Bruce Mohl Charlie Baker, Offshore Wind, Ron Mariano 0 Comments Mar 26, 2021

AFTER SIGNING the climate change bill into law on Friday, Gov. Charlie Baker and House Speaker Ron Mariano began an interesting discussion about how the state should go about building an onshore industry to support the development of offshore wind. The climate change law authorizes the purchase of 5,600 megawatts of offshore wind, but it(...)

Somerset struggles amid slow rollout of offshore wind

Residents not happy with ‘interim’ scrap metal business at former coal plant site

By Bruce Mohl Electricity, Energy, Offshore Wind 0 Comments Mar 22, 2021

WHEN A ST. LOUIS company bought the massive coal-fired Brayton Point power plant in Somerset in 2018, the firm was viewed far and wide as a white knight riding to the town’s rescue. Commercial Development Co., which bills itself as North America’s leading brownfield developer, promised to raze the shuttered power plant and convert the(...)

3 Massachusetts myths about offshore wind

We’re no longer the leader, and we’re falling behind where it counts

By David W Cash, Michael Goodman and Jennifer J. Menard Energy, Offshore Wind 0 Comments Mar 11, 2021

MASSACHUSETTS MADE headlines a few years ago when it secured the nation’s first large-scale procurement of offshore wind, the 800-megawatt Vineyard Wind project. The Commonwealth was leading the way, planning on developing 3,200 megawatts in total, recognizing the potential of offshore wind to address its carbon reduction goals while catalyzing a new industry and growing(...)

Biden administration moves forward on Vineyard Wind

Issues final environment impact statement for project

By Bruce Mohl Electricity, Energy 0 Comments Mar 8, 2021

THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION on Monday released its final environmental impact statement on the Vineyard Wind offshore wind project and indicated the analysis could gain final approval soon, paving the way for the project to begin construction. The four-volume statement said the final environment impact report “is not a decision document.” It said the statement will(...)