Energy News for week ending March 9, 2018

Getting Testy | Climate Bill Expected | Fusion Power

Happy Friday afternoon everyone. We’re hoping you’re all safe, warm, and have electricity. And if not, that you get it back soon. Here’s to the men and women who are out there working hard to restore power and get people back into their homes.

Now for the news.

When it comes to the pipeline debate, according to CommonWealth Magazine, things are getting testy – at least on Twitter. From the article, “It started on Tuesday when [Tim] Murray, president of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, retweeted a story from the Daily Hampshire Gazette raising concerns about New England’s shortage of gas in late December and early January, which forced the region to generate electricity by burning 2 million barrels of oil. ‘Underscores why we need natural gas as bridge fuel while we aggressively pursue renewable energy future…,’ Murray tweeted. The comment prompted a lot of pushback from individuals and groups who oppose the construction of new natural gas pipeline infrastructure. Some called natural gas a ‘bridge to nowhere.’”

Among those opposed to Murray’s Tweet was the Blue Mass Group that had a tweet-storm about it this morning. The Sunday Boston Globe editorial about the prospects of transporting LNG which included statements, such as “faddish anti-pipeline politics,” and “The counterproductive results of the state’s experiment with moral purity…” also resulted in pushback with blog posts by Charley on the MTA at Blue Mass Group and Craig S. Altemose of 350 Massachusetts at CommonWealth Magazine.

The recent back to back Nor’easters with their coastal flooding, high winds, and heavy precipitation have some asking for climate change mitigation measures to happen sooner rather than later. In an article from Katie Lannan of the State House News Service in the Greenfield Recorder, we have word that “Gov. Charlie Baker said he plans to file legislation next week addressing climate change…‘A lot of these places got hit pretty hard in the January 4 storm as well, and I think we’re going to have to come up with a different kind of strategy around resilience,’ Baker said during his monthly appearance on WGBH Radio.”

In our new energy technology feature for the week we have news from MIT that “Progress toward the long-sought dream of fusion power — potentially an inexhaustible and zero-carbon source of energy — could be about to take a dramatic leap forward. Development of this carbon-free, combustion-free source of energy is now on a faster track toward realization, thanks to a collaboration between MIT and a new private company, Commonwealth Fusion Systems. CFS will join with MIT to carry out rapid, staged research leading to a new generation of fusion experiments and power plants based on advances in high-temperature superconductors — work made possible by decades of federal government funding for basic research.” What’s interesting about the federal research aspect is that according to the Washington Post, the Trump administration is considering cutting the funding for the international fusion energy project.

As always you can find upcoming events at Northeast Energy News. Have a great weekend.

Natural Gas/Oil/Pipeline/Drilling

Cheap fuel, stagnant demand drive down New England wholesale prices, Utility Dive

National Grid gas operations center coming to Peabody, The Salem News

The Next Standing Rock? A Pipeline Battle Looms in Oregon, New York Times

Hearings close on Woodridge Lake pipeline proposal, Torrington Register Citizen

Federal agency refutes EDF claims about gas pipeline usage, Wicked Local Dedham

Regulators OK Lebanon Gas Project, Valley News

National Grid pays $7 million for overcharging Massachusetts customers, Boston Business Journal

Gloucester again at center of drilling fight, Gloucester Times

PUC orders emergency shutdown of key natural gas pipeline, Pittsburg Business Journal

Pipeline debate gets testy on Twitter, CommonWealth Magazine