Mayflower Wind Sails Forth | Share the Benefits | Cranberries, Seaweed, Fusion, and Poltergeist
Happy Friday! We hope you all were the beneficiaries of treats last night and avoided the tricks.
Mayflower Wind received a special treat this week – the opportunity to enter contract negotiations with the utilities. From South Coast Today, “Mayflower Wind Energy has won the bidding war for Massachusetts’ second offshore wind contract. The state’s electric companies selected the lowest-cost of Mayflower’s four bids, rather than ones designed to invest in port infrastructure or build a new manufacturing facility. ‘When it was balanced on whole, this was the one that was most competitive on price and economic development,’ state energy commissioner Judith Judson told reporters on a press call Wednesday. ‘Mayflower’s package for all their bids included significant economic development.’ Mayflower beat Bay State Wind and Vineyard Wind, both of which also submitted multiple bids with different selling points…Mayflower’s winning bid calls for 804 megawatts of generation capacity. Together with last year’s winning bid by Vineyard Wind for 800 megawatts, the state has fulfilled its procurement obligation under the 2016 law. The companies have not yet signed contracts with Mayflower. Wednesday’s announcement begins the negotiation phase. The bid schedule calls for contracts to be executed by Dec. 13 and sent to the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities for approval.”
In other news this week, nearly 30 communities are asking for a more equitable share of solar benefits. From the State House News Service via MassLive, “Saying that ‘significant portions’ of their communities have not shared the benefits of solar and other clean energy programs, municipal officials from 27 communities are asking Gov. Charlie Baker and lawmakers to help meet the needs of their constituents. The 40 officials wrote a letter on Wednesday to Baker, House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Karen Spilka, flagging actions the Beacon Hill leaders can take to address their concerns. The letter said that less than 3% of projects under the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target program qualify as low-income, while the statewide poverty rate exceeds 10 percent…They asked lawmakers to hold a hearing this session ‘on why solar programs are failing’ low- and moderate-income populations, and to ‘actively support and work to pass’ three bills, including a House and Senate measure relative to solar power in environmental justice and urban communities, a House bill to remove barriers to solar for low-income communities and a Senate bill ensuring access to solar energy for all communities.”
Here are four other articles we found interesting this week – one of which is scary and reminds of us of a scene from Poltergeist.
- Joining other farmers across the country — Massachusetts Cranberry Farmers Want To Build Solar Panels Over Their Bogs, CBS Boston / WBZ
- Add this to the list of potential Blue Economy businesses — Could a Seaweed Diet for Cows Combat Climate Change, Maine Researchers Want to Know, NECN
- Check out the cool images and videos of this giant facility — Chasing Unlimited Energy With the World’s Largest Fusion Reactor, Bloomberg
- This is really sad and scary and we’re not making light of it at all — Even the Dead Cannot Escape Climate Change, Scientific American. Sigh.
Enjoy the rest of the news below and have a fabulous weekend.
Natural Gas/Oil/Pipeline/Drilling
Residents’ group to challenge compressor station permits, Patriot Ledger
NY governor moves closer to stripping National Grid of license with new demand, S&P Global
Regulators: Utilities, not customers, should pay for gas outage on Aquidneck Island, Providence Journal
Climate change v. Killingly gas power plant. And the winner is …, Connecticut Mirror
US State Department oil pipeline review doesn’t ease worries, Connecticut Post
Rhode Island releases report on winter natural gas outage, Connecticut Post
National Grid Gas Nightmare: $92 Million Redevelopment Held Up In Nassau County, CBS Local
MAPC hires firm to review Weymouth compressor project’s impacts, Wicked Local
DPU launches two investigations into Columbia Gas, Salem News
Renewables/Climate Change/RGGI
Younger Americans are willing to pay twice as much as their parents for clean energy, Quartz
Rising Seas Will Erase More Cities by 2050, New Research Shows, New York Times
Could a Seaweed Diet for Cows Combat Climate Change, Maine Researchers Want to Know, NECN
Even the Dead Cannot Escape Climate Change, Scientific American
Philadelphia Tackles Climate Change through Partnerships, Microgrid Knowledge
Wind
Mass. picks lowest-price offshore wind option, CommonWealth Magazine
Shell and EDPR Win Massachusetts’ Second Offshore Wind Tender, Greentech Media
New Developer Enters Race for Offshore Wind, Vineyard Gazette
Mayflower Wind wins Massachusetts’ second offshore wind contract, South Coast Today
Funding sought to dismantle, store Falmouth turbines, Cape Cod Times
Chances fade for next US wind lease sale off New York in 2020, Recharge News via NASDAQ
New York’s Offshore Wind Bid Winners Sign OREC Deals, Offshorewind.biz
Troubles lurk for America’s emerging offshore wind boom, Axios
PSEG in talks to acquire 25% of Ørsted’s 1,100 MW New Jersey offshore wind project, Utility Dive
Offshore wind farm raises economic, environmental issues, Cape Gazette (Delaware)
US wind energy capacity is now more than 100 gigawatts, according to new report, CNBC
Competition makes UMaine think bigger about its offshore wind project, Portland Press Herald
Offshore Wind Energy Could Generate Enough Electricity to Power the World. Will the U.S. Get on Board?, Rolling Stone
Pascrell in Bipartisan Move to Keep Lucrative Tax Credits for Offshore Wind Industry, NJ Spotlight
Solar
Massachusetts Cranberry Farmers Want To Build Solar Panels Over Their Bogs, CBS Boston / WBZ
ReVision Energy wins clean energy honor, Portland Press Herald
West Hartford mayor flips switch on solar array on top of town hall, Hartford Courant
This New York town partnered with CleanChoice Energy to provide community solar to its residents, Solar Builder
U.S. Light Energy breaks ground on another New York community solar project, Solar Power World
Energy Efficiency/Storage
Time running out for energy efficiency, other tax credit extensions as next spending deadline nears, Utility Dive
Top 5 Energy Storage Trends of the Year, Power Magazine
VEC, partners, celebrate success of the co-op’s first utility-scale battery system, VTDigger
EVs
It Wouldn’t Take a Lot of Electric Vehicles to Shift Residential Peak Demand: Study, Microgrid Knowledge
Nuclear
Real-time monitors sought for Seabrook power plant, Seacoastonline.com
Decommissioning Test: NorthStar Uses Vermont Yankee As Launch Pad For Other Power Plant Jobs, VPR
Nuclear Fusion: Still Frustratingly Far Off Despite Recent Signs of Momentum, Greentech Media
Chasing Unlimited Energy With the World’s Largest Fusion Reactor, Bloomberg
Market/Grid/Policy/Prices
11 attorneys general urge FERC to respect state energy rights, Utility Dive
NYISO to study climate change impact on 100% renewable energy system, S&P Global
Details emerge about DOE ‘super‑grid’ renewable study, E&E News
Google: Coming Soon to an RTO Near You?, Greentech Media
Community Power law could provide potential savings to NH residents, Monadnock Ledger-Transcript
New PURA leader Gillett reckons with CT’s energy prices | Hartford Business Journal, Hartford Business
Woolwich voters to decide whether to withdraw town’s support for CMP corridor, Portland Press Herald
Utility shut-offs in Connecticut have more than doubled. Advocates say low-income families are being kept in the dark about how to prevent them, Hartford Courant
Officials call for investigation of Eversource, PURA to hold hearing on energy affordability, WTNH
National Grid: Gas customers to see lower bills this winter, WPRI 12
Editorial/Opinion
Maine Voices: Western Maine power line needed to fight climate change, Portland Press Herald
The climate change shakedown, Boston Globe
Why isn’t Connecticut prioritizing renewable energy solutions?, Hartford Courant
Spending on efficiency cheaper than making energy, Press of Atlantic City
Northeast Energy News 