Happy Friday everyone!
Gas stories abound this week. First, CommonWealth Magazine brings us the news that the companies involved in the Access Northeast Pipeline are putting the project on hold. According to the story, company officials said the project was being withdrawn from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s pre-filing review process and would not be revived until “gaps in legal authority” are addressed. Its backers said the region needed more access to gas, particularly in the winter months, when prices rise and backup coal and oil-fired plants are rushed into service to meet the region’s power needs.
Earlier in the week, The Recorder’s Going Green blog wrote about Kinder Morgan’s Tennessee Gas subsidiary “open season” filing seeking bids from gas distribution companies and other customers for a new pipeline in the region. The past couple of weeks have also brought us two reports on the benefits of natural gas. The API’s report looks at all 50 states, while the Northeast Gas Association directs its attention specifically on Massachusetts.
Last tidbit for this week comes from Microgrid Knowledge in an article that demonstrates bigger is not necessary better, at least when it comes to grid reliability according to two reports from the Brattle Group and the Analysis Group. The studies find renewables are not jeopardizing reliability and the very idea of ‘baseload’ — power plants that run almost all the time — may be antiquated, given today’s mix of flexible, software-driven power resources.
Have a wonderful and safe 4th of July weekend.
Natural Gas/Pipeline
Access Northeast pipeline put on indefinite hold, CommonWealth Magazine
Gubernatorial candidates join compressor station opposition, Berkshire Eagle
Native Americans to fight FERC over pipeline work, Berkshire Eagle
98-year-old Northampton peace activist Frances Crowe faces trespassing charge after Berkshire pipeline protest, MassLive.com
8 protesters arrested at Massachusetts gas pipeline project, Boston.com
Kinder Morgan pitches future natural gas pipeline capacity in New York, New England, MassLive.com
Risk assessment requested for Weymouth compressor station site, Wicked Local Weymouth
Eversource invests $3.5M in Danbury’s natural gas system, CT Post
‘Victory’: Irish Lawmakers Ban Fracking | Common Dreams, Common Dreams
Study of oil and gas drilling finds pollution and connections to earthquakes, Houston Chronicle
Judge’s DAPL Ruling, Reckless Spill Record Pushes Pipeline Company’s Shares Below $20 for First Time, EcoWatch
‘Open season’ filed to gauge natural gas market, Going Green
Climate Change
WBUR Poll Finds A Sharp Increase In Concern About Climate Change Among Mass. Voters, WBUR
These experts say we have three years to get climate change under control. And they’re the optimists., Washington Post
Northeast & Mid-Atlantic Climate Leadership Starts with RGGI, Natural Resources Defense Council
Renewable Energy
RGGI mulling ‘cocktail’ of price-boosting measures as review’s end draws closer, Carbon Pulse
Ashland: Citizens Energy takes a shine to Nyanza site, MetroWest Daily News
Solar Energy Compromise Heads to LePage With Enough Support to Withstand Veto, Maine Public
Onshore wind development slow but steady as offshore plan advances, Mainebiz
New Bedford hoping to catch renewable energy wave, South Coast Today
DONG Energy Inaugurates 582 Megawatt Gode Wind I & 2 Offshore Wind Farms, CleanTechnica
Green Farmland Or Green Energy? Deepwater Wind Brings Debate To Connecticut, Rhode Island Public Radio
Was America’s First Offshore Wind Farm Unfairly Blamed For A Whale’s Death?, HuffPost
Wind Energy Has Officially Become Cheaper Than Fossil Fuels, Futurism
Is Offshore Wind Power Riding a Rising Tide?, The National Law Review
Simsbury Debates Trade Off Between Green Farmland And Green Energy, WNPR News
Citing ‘Hughes v. Talen,’ court rejects challenge to Connecticut’s renewable RFP, Utility Dive
Rooftop solar power gets a boost, mostly, from new PUC ruling, Concord Monitor
Marine Conservationist On New England’s Potential To Harness Energy From Ocean Tides, Rhode Island Public Radio
A Fight Over the Electric Grid Could Reshape America’s Green Power Boom, TIME
Baker-Polito Administration Announces $960,000 for Clean Energy Education Program, Energy Central
Yarmouth pours energy into going green, Cape Cod Times
Massachusetts Regulators Direct Utilities to Shorten Offshore Wind Bid Evaluation Timeline, Renewable Energy World
New Rules for Wind Turbines Delayed in Vermont, Energy Central
New Hampshire regulators approve new net metering tariffs, Utility Dive
Falmouth selectmen weigh financial impact of turbine shutdown, Cape Cod Times
New Hampshire Shines In Solar Compromise, Solar Industry
Energy Efficiency
A second attack on the energy efficiency program at the General Assembly poised to pass, RI Future
South Burlington residents save six percent on electric, vtdigger.org
Energy Efficiency Deserves Center Stage During President’s Energy Week, Energy Collective
Greenfield receives state funding for energy efficiency, wwlp.com
Nuclear
Nuclear Can Be Friends With Renewables—If It’s Modular, Greentech Media
Millstone Owner To Assess Shutting Down Nuclear Plant, Hartford Courant
NRC: Entergy served notice of violation ‘with willful intent’, The Recorder
Millstone owners not giving up on lucrative legislation, CT Post
ISO-NE lays out retirement options for Dominion’s Millstone nuke, Utility Dive
Markets/Grid/Policy/Prices/Etc.
Hudson, Sudbury, Stow OK’d to intervene in Eversource power line case, MetroWest Daily News
Regional energy plan approved by state DPS, Bennington Banner
AMS in partnership with Southern Company subsidiary, gets Massachusetts peak load reduction grant, Energy Storage News
Massachusetts Energy Reliability Awareness Campaign, Northeast Gas Association
Northern Pass Clears Another Regulatory Hurdle, New Hampshire Public Radio
President Trump’s budget would put communities living near oil and gas at risk, Environmental Defense Fund
Bigger is Not Better: Grid Modernization and the Antiquated Concept of ‘Baseload,’ Microgrid Knowledge
Melrose Community Electricity Aggregation program update, Wicked Local Melrose
Eversource details impact of proposed rate shift, Berkshire Eagle
CT Siting Council to Return to Greenwich for Public Hearing on Eversource Proposed Substation, Greenwich Free Press
Hudson ConCom Commission says preferred Eversource power line route would hurt environment, MetroWest Daily News
New Brattle study touts flexible grid, dismisses ‘baseload’ hype, Utility Dive
New York expected to set high bar for energy storage after target bill passage, Utility Dive
Editorial/Opinion
Opinion: It’s nonsense to say fracking can be made safe, whatever guidelines we come up with, Phys.Org
Legislature Should Revive Millstone Bill, Hartford Courant
Commentary: Ideology shouldn’t trump practical solutions, LePage energy adviser says, Press Herald
Don’t Sweep Utility Funds Into General Budget, Hartford Courant
Opinion: Renew push for pricing carbon, BurlingtonFreePress.com
Round three on renewable energy, CommonWealth Magazine
Northeast Energy News 