Shots fired | Energy Flow Chart | Realtors Push Back
Happy Friday afternoon.
This week CommonWealth Magazine reports that new shots were fired in the gas pipeline war. From the article, “A group of natural gas pipeline opponents released a report on Thursday suggesting the operator of New England’s power grid used ‘unreasonable assumptions’ when it concluded that rolling brownouts were possible in 2024 without additional gas supplies. The new report, prepared by Synapse Energy Economics for the Conservation Law Foundation and a handful of other groups, said the power grid operator low-balled renewable energy development, hydro-electricity imports from Quebec, and liquefied natural gas imports to make its case.
Moving to a bigger picture, Vox.com gives us a detailed look at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s US energy use data. Dave Roberts writes, “Perhaps the most striking feature of the spaghetti diagram — what everyone notices the first time they see it — is the enormous amount of “rejected” energy. Not just some, but almost two-thirds of the potential energy embedded in our energy sources ended up wasted in 2017…What’s more, the US economy is trending less and less efficient over time.”
And last for this week, coming back closer to home, is an article by Christian Wade in the Eagle Tribune that MA Governor Baker’s proposal for a new system for grading home energy efficiency is “getting a cool reception from the Massachusetts Realtors Association, which argues that mandating energy audits would impact home sales. They told lawmakers that a mandate could slow turnover in an already tight housing market and negatively affect low-income communities.”
As always you can find events at Northeast Energy News. Have a great weekend.
Natural Gas/Oil/Pipeline/Drilling
More shots fired in pipeline wars, CommonWealth Magazine
Invenergy Hearings Focus on Facts, Lies and Hyperbole, ecoRI news
Fracking Waste Ordinance Goes to Clinton Voters May 8, Zip06.com
Final hearing stage on Burrillville power plant begins, Valley Breeze
Proximity to fracking sites affects public support of them, study finds, Science Daily
Study: Fracking Chemicals Alter Immune System in Mice, EcoWatch
Eversource continuing construction for natural gas in Darien, Darien Times
Fore River residents set out to document health issues in the basin, The Patriot Ledger
Renewables/Climate Change/RGGI
How big can New England’s regional cap-and-trade program get?, Utility Dive
Clean Energy Advocates Reject Regional Fuel Supply Warnings, New Hampshire Public Radio
Going green helps Lanesborough farms save green, Berkshire Eagle
New York grid operator floats carbon pricing proposal, Utility Dive
Wind
Vineyard takes forward step, reNews
Build offshore wind farms, transmission separately, CommonWealth magazine
Offshore Wind May Finally Be Here (Really), POWER magazine
Living near municipal wind turbines has residents on guard, Patriot Ledger
Document from the National Weather Service lists possible radar interference impact from wind turbines, Watertown Daily News
Wind project off Vineyard could power hospitals, Cape Cod Times
Officials reviewing options on wind turbine, WAGM (Maine)
Solar
New York ISO: Distributed solar largely to blame for declining load, Utility Dive
New England colleges form partnership to purchase and use solar energy, The Massachusetts Daily Collegian
New Solar Panel Array Helps RI Reduce Its Energy Consumption, Rhode Island Public Radio
2017 Was Weird For Solar. What’s Coming This Year and Beyond?, Greentech Media
Solar array planned for Southwest Harbor, Mount Desert Islander
Old Sturbridge Village adds 5,400 solar panels, Worcester Business Journal
Solar at the crossroads: Is utility-scale, distributed or both the way to go?, Utility Dive
Energy Efficiency/Storage
Providence Unveils Large Building Energy Efficiency Program, U.S. News & World Report
Realtors push back against Baker’s energy audit plan, Eagle-Tribune
Brockton is lit — city LEDs the way with streetlight project, Enterprise
Lithium-ion domination could block promising storage technologies, MIT finds, Utility Dive
Nuclear
Activists Warn Against Relicensing Seabrook Nuclear Plant, Where Cracks Are Spreading, New Hampshire Public Radio
Port council asks NRC for hearing on Seabrook emergency response plan, The Daily News of Newburyport
Regulators outline nuke-bid timeline, Hartford Business
NASA Tests New Nuclear Reactor For Future Space Travelers, New England Public Radio
House to vote next week to move ahead with Yucca Mountain as nuclear waste dump, Washington Examiner
Bill Gates in Search of Nuclear Nirvana, Scientific American
How the Nuclear Industry Is Fighting Back, Greentech Media
NuScale SMR Becomes First to Complete NRC Phase One Review, Power Engineering
DOE Invests $60M in Nuclear Energy R&D Projects, ExecutiveGov
Port council asks NRC for hearing on Seabrook emergency response plan, Newburyport Daily News
PJM: FirstEnergy nukes can retire without reliability threat, Utility Dive
New Jersey’s nuclear subsidies could go to out-of-state plants, NJspotlight.com
NASA Successfully Tests Portable Nuclear Reactor for Space, Energy Central
EVs
15 minute charge for a 300 mile range? DOE moves to boost EVs, Utility Dive
Markets/Grid/Policy/Prices/Etc.
American energy use, in one diagram, Vox
ISO-NE cost recovery proposal opens new front in fuel security debate, Utility Dive
ISO New England hits milestone: More grid power used at night than midday, Utility Dive
‘Cyber Blindspot’ Threatens Energy Companies Spending Too Little, Bloomberg
Utilities must detail tax savings, Salem News
Get ready for the most expensive driving season in years, Penn Energy
‘First time in New Hampshire’ rate system for Liberty gas would compensate for losses due to energy efficiency, Concord Monitor
The Power Market Fix We’ve Been Waiting For, Greentech Media
ISO says New England can meet 2018 summer heat wave electricity demand, MassLive.com
Opponents file arguments with state to scuttle or reshape CMP plan for 145-mile power line, Press Herald
Eversource dives into proxy battle over Connecticut Water, The Boston Globe
ISO-NE Planning Advisory Committee Briefs: April 26, 2018, RTO Insider
Eversource: Filing ‘Fully Addresses’ Northern Pass Criticism, U.S. News & World Report
National Grid’s tunnel vision: Digging below the Buffalo River, Buffalo News
CMP transmission project expected to fatten parent Avangrid’s bottom line, Press Herald
New Hampshire’s Energy Strategy: Lower Costs, Less Focus on Subsidies, New Hampshire Public Radio
Editorial/Opinion
Shocker: Opposition forms to Maine hydro plan, Boston Globe
Is Offshore Wind About To Hit Cost-Competitiveness In New York And New England?, Forbes.com
Build offshore wind farms, transmission separately, CommonWealth Magazine
Fracking is wrecking Pennsylvania, LancasterOnline
Governor, move more quickly on offshore wind, CommonWealth magazine
YOUR VIEW: Powering our march towards a renewable future, SouthCoastToday.com
Infrastructure Necessary for Energy Independence, Revere Journal
YOUR VIEW: Powering our march towards a renewable future, SouthCoastToday.com
In Mass. energy pipeline, must there be more pipelines?, The Boston Globe
Letter: RGGI is good for the earth and the economy, Albany Times Union
State Sen. Kevin Avard: Energy diversity can help reduce rates, Concord Monitor
Are Public Objections to Wind Farms Overblown?, Renewable Energy World
Northeast Energy News 