Energy News for week ending September 14, 2018

Explosions, Fires | Dark Money | NH to use VW Cash for EV Infrastructure

Good Friday afternoon.

First, our hearts go out to the folks in Andover, Lawrence and North Andover, for yesterday’s tragedy. Our thanks and appreciation go to all of the first responders, some of whom lost their own homes, and who have come from all parts of New England to help out with the situation. Last, here’s to the gas and electric utility workers who are working diligently to create a safe environment and get people back in their homes. There are many places to offer help, The Essex County Community Foundation and MSPCA at Nevins Farm are two local ones.

Instead of sharing a lot of stories on this subject, we direct you to the local media outlet – the Lawrence Eagle Tribune – for coverage. Also here is today’s 11:10AM statement from Columbia Gas.

Heading north to Maine, we have a story from the Press Herald, Dark money and blurred alliances drum up resistance to CMP power line project, “An unusual mix of opponents, one of them quite secretive, is working at a grass-roots level to block a proposed 145-mile power line through Maine, even though it’s not on any ballot.”

And Utility Dive, reports New Hampshire to use $4.6M of VW settlement to build EV infrastructure, “New Hampshire will use $4.6 million, or about 15% of its share of the Volkswagen emissions settlement, to develop electric vehicle (EV) charging stations around the state, according to a Beneficiary Mitigation Plan released last week. Funds will be used to acquire, install, operate and maintain vehicle supply equipment, and the state will begin accepting applications next month, The Concord Monitor reports…In total, New Hampshire will receive almost $31 million from the $15 billion VW settlement…

That’s it for this week. Have a great weekend.

PS – Due to a scheduling problem we were unable to share last week’s energy news. We have included a few key stories from last week in the mix below in case you missed them.

Natural Gas/Oil/Pipeline/Drilling

Merrimack Valley Gas Explosions and Fires Coverage, Eagle Tribune

Unions taking an old-school stand against National Grid, Boston Globe

Could Oil Demand Peak in Just Five Years?, Wall St. Journal

Trump Administration Wants to Make It Easier to Release Methane Into Air, New York Times

Amid Lockout, Mass. AG Calls For Probe Into National Grid Over Safety Concerns, WBUR

Firm prohibited from imposing new rate increases, Berkshire Eagle

Activists protest controversial Algonquin pipeline, Hudson Valley News

Power plant divides gubernatorial candidates, Brown Daily Herald

Agawam ConsCom to consider gas pipeline expansion, MassLive

Natural gas pipeline blast in Beaver County prompts evacuation, State Impact

Locked Out National Grid Workers Struggling To Pay Medical Bills, CBS Boston/WBZ

Waltham Asks City To Support Unions, Moratorium On National Grid, USA Patch

 

Renewables/Climate Change/RGGI

California Sets Goal Of 100 Percent Clean Electric Power By 2045, WBUR

US activists launch climate change initiatives in absence of federal leadership, Guardian

Q3 RGGI auction clears at premium, pushing secondary market to 2.5-year high, carbon-pulse.com

Otis Microgrid: Cape Cod Military Base To Run Fully On Renewable Energy, CleanTechnica

Keene, Portsmouth Climate Rallies Foresee Flooded Future Without Renewable Energy Transition, New Hampshire Public Radio

National Park Officials Were Told Climate Change Was ‘Sensitive.’ So They Removed It From A Key Planning Report, HuffPost

Maine businesses get more than $430,000 for renewable energy, Portland Press Herald

Supreme Judicial Court upholds MassDEP’s right to cap carbon emissions from power plants to fight climate change, MassLive

 

Wind

Yarmouth again balks at Vineyard Wind pact, Cape Cod Times

State Finds Flaws In Turbine Noise Study, The Bourne Enterprise

Energy ratepayers bankrolling offshore wind farm opposed by Long Island fishing community, LoHud.com

NYSERDA accepting bids for energy credits from several local wind projects still under consideration, Watertown Daily News

Wind turbine project proposed in ocean off Atlantic County WHYY

New York’s offshore wind plan faces commercial fishing opposition, Poughkeepsie Journal

Offshore Wind Industry ‘Really Moving;’ Coordination Key, RTO Insider

 

Solar

Massachusetts AG Maura Healey Reacts to Complaints of Solar Companies Preying on Elderly, NECN

Report: Mass. solar growth slows as SMART incentives remain shelved, MassLive

New Community Solar Opportunities In Western Massachusetts, Solar Industry

Cranberry farmers looking for sunnier pastures via solar panels, South Coast Today

Report: Solar industry rebounds from tariff uncertainty, Utility Dive

 

Energy Efficiency/Storage

New report says Connecticut has more than 30,000 energy efficiency jobs, New Haven Register

Coal-Killing Energy Storage Grows By 200% In US (#CleanTechnica Interview), CleanTechnica

Mass. ranks sixth in energy efficiency jobs, per report, WBJournal

Led by Surging Residential Sector, Q2 US Energy Storage Deployments Grow 200% Year-Over-Year, Greentech Media

 

EVs

A Big Week For Reshaping the Electric Grid with EVs, Microgrid Knowledge

Electric future? Global push to move away from gas-powered cars, Guardian

Early VC money likes electric vehicles, Axios

Someday Soon Your Utility Will Help You Select Your Next Car, Renewable Energy World

New Hampshire to use $4.6M of VW settlement to build EV infrastructure, Utility Dive

 

Nuclear

NRC seeks details on Pilgrim sale, Cape Cod Times

Citizens Awareness Network to lead environmental justice tour, VTDigger

Nuclear plant closings bring pain to cities and towns, SaukValley.com

 

Markets/Grid/Policy/Prices/Etc.

PUC delays next week’s hearings on CMP’s proposed transmission line project, Portland Press Herald

EEI White Paper Calls for End to `Pancaked’ Rate Cases, RTO Insider

Opposition builds to CMP’s transmission line project, Kennebec Journal

Fall River Wonders: I asked the electric company to cut some branches, why didn’t they take them?, Herald News

Maine regulators to hold hearings in towns eyed for CMP hydropower project, Bangor Daily News

Microgrid Project at Submarine Base Receives $5M Connecticut Grant, Microgrid Knowledge

Sudbury: Eversource environmental report “deficient,” MetroWest Daily News

It’s a mad, mad, mad IoT world – protecting America’s power grid from common household appliances, diginomica.com

Dark money and blurred alliances drum up resistance to CMP power line project, Portland Press Herald

ISO-NE proposes market bridge to valuing fuel security, Utility Dive

Unexpected outages, intense heat behind ISO-NE Labor Day price spike, Utility Dive

 

Editorial/Opinion

Hydro-Québec, Central Maine Power respond to critics, CommonWealth Magazine

Every State Will Win in the Race to Build Offshore Wind, Greentech Media

Viewpoint: Massachusetts needs to shift its energy efficiency strategy, Boston Business JournalViewpoint: Massachusetts needs to shift its energy efficiency strategy, Business Journals

Rep. Herb Richardson and Sen. Dan Feltes: Let’s focus on local energy and jobs, lower rates, Concord Monitor

Another View — Catherine Corkery and James McCaffrey: Biomass bill sells out NH residents, New Hampshire Union Leader

Unions’ ‘unwinnable’ fight vs. National Grid is one they can’t afford to lose, Boston Globe

Vermont Yankee issues have all been answered, by Bob Leach, Keene Sentinel

Maine Compass: CMP transmission line would harm Maine’s heritage, and future, Kennebec Journal

A dangerous tipping point for New England’s wholesale electricity market, Utility Dive