Lunch conversation | WSJ Series | Nuclear Waste
Happy Friday folks.
We start this week with an article by Spencer Buell of Boston Magazine that recaps his conversation with Professor Nathan Phillips on his hunger strike over the Weymouth Compressor Station. Regardless of where you stand on the issue, we think it makes for interesting reading.
No recap for this, but if you have access check out the Wall St. Journal’s series on the Future of Everything related to energy. It’s a positive look at the future. All of the links are embedded below but here are a couple that are particularly cool: To store the wind and sun, energy startups look to gravity and What’s next for the energy grid.
And for our new tech feature we bring you a story from Grist, “The power plant of the future could run on nuclear waste. A California-based start-up’s plans to develop a power plant that can turn nuclear waste into energy just took a big step closer to reality. The company, Oklo, got a permit in December to build the next-generation power plant at the Idaho National Laboratory, in Idaho Falls. The lab announced Wednesday that it will also provide Oklo with fuel — the waste products of a nuclear reactor. The Oklo design is for a small plant providing up to 1.5 megawatts of electricity — enough to power about 1,000 homes — which operates like a long-lasting battery, without the need for a team of operators or refueling for 20 years.”
That’s the recap for this week. Have a great weekend.
Natural Gas/Oil/Pipeline/Drilling
My Lunch with the Hunger Striker Who Took on Charlie Baker, Boston Magazine
More than a dozen arrested at Weymouth compressor station protest, Patriot Ledger
State regulators won’t do more asbestos testing at Weymouth compressor site, Wicked Local
Bow power plant wins funding through 2024, Concord Monitor
Demonstrators protest National Grid’s fracked gas pipeline in Williamsburg, MSN
Fossil Fuel Emissions Contribute More Methane Than Previously Estimated, Discover Magazine
National Grid is Raising Rates in Order to Build a Fracked-Gas Pipeline in Brooklyn, The Indypendent
Explosions, health risks, higher bills: Why North Brooklyn residents are fighting this project., Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Transocean: The Offshore Drilling Industry Is In Crisis But Is Not Gone, Seeking Alpha
Yale faculty meeting to discuss school’s ethical obligation on fossil fuel investment, WTNH
Climate activists have a target: Harvard’s endowment, Boston Globe
Vermont Gas seeks 2.9% rate increase, VTDigger
Renewables/Climate Change/RGGI
How Clean Is Massachusetts’ Clean Peak Rule? Not So Much, New Study Says, Greentech Media
Baker’s push to curb emissions draws a familiar foe: his own party, Boston Globe
FERC rules clean energy must pay higher market price in New York, Reuters
Boston harbor brings ashore a new enemy: Rising seas, Washington Post
Methane is a hard-hitting greenhouse gas. Now scientists say we’ve dramatically underestimated how much we’re emitting, Washington Post
Growing bricks and more ways to shrink concrete’s carbon footprint, Wall St. Journal
Researchers Debate Whether Global Emissions Have Peaked, Bloomberg Green
Turning the tide: South Shore legislators are on the front lines of climate change, Patriot Ledger
Baker Administration Planning Rule To Ban Hydrofluorocarbon, WBUR
Google Spinout Dandelion Energy Ramps Up Home Geothermal Installations, Greentech Media
Energy from air: UMass researchers develop device that generates electricity from humidity, Daily Hampshire Gazette
Senators consider requiring utilities to buy more local renewables, VT Digger
ITC Probing Economic Impact of Renewable Goals, Imports to New England, Power Magazine
‘With so much coast and so little land, R.I. is the most vulnerable state in New England’, Boston Globe
ITC To Probe Economic Effect Of Renewable Energy In Mass.. Law360
Wind
Vineyard Wind facing lots of hurdles, CommonWealth Magazine
Report: Utilities raised concerns on Mayflower, CommonWealth Magazine
Plymouth health board reviewing wind turbines on Bourne line, Wicked Local Plymouth
Sununu wants offshore wind farm, The Telegraph
MONTI: Ocean wind farms good for fishing, but dialogue needs balance, Sun Chronicle
In ritzy East Hampton, the biggest hurdle to offshore wind is a single cable, Politico
Right Whale Protection At Heart Of New Vineyard Wind Partnership, WGBH
Wind energy gives American farmers a new crop to sell in tough times, USA Today
Solar
Cash-strapped farms are growing a new crop: Solar panels, Grist
Nautilus Solar acquires 3.5-MW Superfund community solar project, Solar Power World
More efficient photocatalysts could unlock the potential of solar energy, Phys.org
CT solar jobs hold steady as U.S. industry stems losses | Hartford Business Journal, Hartford Business
New world record for conversion of solar energy to electricity using quantum dots, Science Daily
The path to market for perovskites, pv magazine International
Portland council endorses solar initiative with 8-0 vote, Portland Press Herald
Energy Efficiency/Storage
Three Innovations To Upend The Energy Storage Market, YAHOO!
To store the wind and sun, energy startups look to gravity, Wall St. Journal
Yale Divinity School receives $15 million for energy-neutral Living Village, New Haven Register
EVs
The Carmaker Putting Solar Panels on Its Electric Vehicles, Greentech Media
Nuclear
The power plant of the future could run on nuclear waste, Grist
When It Comes to Nuclear Power, Could Smaller Be Better?, Yale Environment 360
France Shuts Oldest Reactors, But Nuclear Power Still Reigns, International Business Times
Market/Grid/Policy/Prices
RTOs need better market signals for using gas, analysts say, as ISO-NE preps related rule, Utility Dive
What’s next for the energy grid, Wall St. Journal
The key to keeping the lights on: artificial intelligence, Wall St. Journal
Public takeover of Maine’s electric utilities could bring higher rates, tax revenue losses, Portland Press Herald
Grid secures future power commitments at low price, CommonWealth Magazine
CMP brings back former CEO with a mission to ‘restore public trust,’ Bangor Daily News
Panel endorses bill requiring CMP to renegotiate lease along corridor route, Portland Press Herald
US State Energy Policies and Power Utility Regulation, Greentech Media
Energy-capacity auction results in record low New England price | Hartford Business Journal, Hartford Business
Consumer-owned utility proposed to replace CMP to be discussed in Kittery, Seacoastonline.com
Northern Pass losses zap Eversource Energy’s 2019 earnings, Stamford Advocate
Utilities don’t see stranded assets as a top risk. Should they?, Utility Dive
Editorial/Opinion
Hunger and the clean energy transition, CommonWealth Magazine
Physicians critique National Grid official’s stance, CommonWealth Magazine
Why States Need to Ban New Gas Hookups in Buildings (in 5 Charts), Greentech Media
Commentary: ‘To get the carbon out,’ Maine should look to energy from wood fiber, Portland Press Herald
Commentary: Regional climate collaboration is a critical policy debate – not just political division, Portland Press Herald
Columnist Johanna Neumann: Proposed gas rule is off the rails, Daily Hampshire Gazette
For gas utilities, voluntary RNG programs can play an important role on the path to decarbonization, Utility Dive
Northeast Energy News 