Plugging In

Energy and the Environment

Time starting to run short for legislative bills

Dempsey says priorities are energy, economic development

By Bruce Mohl Electricity, Energy 0 Comments Apr 13, 2016

WITH THE STATE BUDGET expected to tie up the House the rest of this month, time is starting to run short for other bills to make it through the legislative process before the term ends at the end of July. Rep. Brian Dempsey of Haverhill, the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, said(...)

Solar net metering bill moving fast

‘It’s great,’ says top Baker aide

By Bruce Mohl Electricity, Energy 1 Comment Apr 6, 2016

COMPROMISE SOLAR NET METERING LEGISLATION that allows the industry to resume expansion while reining in some costs borne by ratepayers appears likely to hit the governor’s desk by the end of the week and be signed into law shortly after that. The Massachusetts House voted 152-1 in favor of the legislation on Wednesday, and the(...)

Baker board denies Cape Wind permit extension

Decision seen as setback to project’s revival

By Bruce Mohl Energy 1 Comment Apr 6, 2016

A BOARD DOMINATED BY APPOINTEES of Gov. Charlie Baker dealt a major blow on Wednesday to efforts to revive Cape Wind, voting unanimously not to grant the project a permit extension for construction of a transmission line between the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm and Barnstable. The decision means Cape Wind will either have to(...)

Solar negotiators reach a deal

Lift cap, cut net metering rates -- but less than House wanted

By Matt Murphy Electricity, Energy 0 Comments Apr 5, 2016

STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FIVE MONTHS OF NEGOTIATIONS resulted in a deal Tuesday between House and Senate leaders to raise the cap on the amount of energy that public and private solar power generators can sell back to the grid while slashing the net metering rate that those generators get paid. The compromise would also(...)

Cape Wind appeals permit extension rejection

Wind farm officials say nothing has changed

By Bruce Mohl Electricity, Energy 2 Comments Apr 5, 2016

CAPE WIND IS URGING A STATE BOARD to overrule its staff and grant an extension of a permit needed to run a power line from the proposed wind farm in Nantucket Sound to Barnstable on Cape Cod. With the Energy Facilities Siting Board set to hear final arguments on Wednesday, Cape Wind’s attorney submitted a(...)

Time running short on solar

By CommonWealth Staff Energy, Massachusetts politics, Solar power 0 Comments Apr 4, 2016

With time starting to run short on Beacon Hill, solar power advocates are mounting an inside-outside campaign to convince a six-member legislative conference committee to lift the cap on net metering. Inside the State House, the advocates played a key, behind-the-scenes role in convincing 100 House members to walk away from a previous vote slashing(...)

What Massachusetts can learn from New York’s solar experience

Utility profit incentive in MA not fully aligned with public interest

By Peter Shattuck and Mark LeBel Electricity, Energy 6 Comments Apr 4, 2016

Over the past several years, Massachusetts has been able to deploy more than 1000 megawatts of solar capacity. This remarkable success is due to an interrelated set of policies that made solar an attractive investment for customers and a viable business opportunity for developers to invest and hire in the Commonwealth. These policies are now(...)

Nuclear wasted

By CommonWealth Staff Energy, Nuclear Power 3 Comments Mar 31, 2016

Since the Shippingport Atomic Power Plant in Pennsylvania went online nearly 60 years ago, becoming the first peacetime use of nuclear power in the world, proponents have touted the low cost and clean output of nukes, which can supply energy for generations. More than 130 nuclear plants were built in the ensuing years, including two(...)

Inaction is driving solar firm out of Mass

Industry on hold waiting for Beacon Hill

By Stephen Christy Massachusetts Legislature 3 Comments Mar 29, 2016

THERE ARE 400 SOLAR COMPANIES working throughout the value chain in Massachusetts and I’m proud to own one of them. When I started my business, Sustainable Energy Professionals (SEP), our state had good policies that made starting a business here in my home state the right move for me. In the summer of 2013, realizing(...)

Solar power is not a zero sum game

Net metering is also not an incentive

By Zaid Ashai Electricity 9 Comments Mar 29, 2016

MORE BAY STATERS ARE BENEFITTING from solar power than ever before. Such widespread adoption of the technology represents a growing consumer desire to control and cut their electricity costs while reducing their environmental impact. It is the result of thoughtful, stable policies that have cultivated a solar workforce boasting 15,000 jobs and – at nearly(...)