Bad Actors | 16,000 | Climate Change Deceit | Scrap the EE Plan

Happy Friday folks.

We’re bringing you another double edition this week. We are blessed here with busy times so client work comes first and this project lately has had to take a back seat.

But we’re making time today so let’s get to the news.

It was a bad couple of weeks for some alleged bad utility execs:

• New York scrutiny: National Grid faces bribery investigation; revenues docked for Con Edison, NYSEG, RG&E, Utility Dive
• Trial dates set for utility cooperatives indicted in Kentucky Derby trips case, The Day

With headlines like that, it’s no wonder bills such as this get proposed: New York Bill Would Require Electric Utilities To Disclose Executive Salaries, Report Expenses, WSHU

Some big rooftop solar is coming to Massachusetts. From MassLive, “Medline Industries, Inc., plans to install the largest rooftop solar array in Massachusetts on its distribution center in Uxbridge. Medline’s 800,000 square foot Uxbridge Distribution Center will house nearly 16,000 solar panels on its extensive roof, generating renewable energy with environmental benefits equivalent to planting 93,000 trees or powering more than 800 homes annually according to estimates provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.”

MA Attorney General Maura Healey won a big one and will get a day (or months) in court, Exxon must face Massachusetts lawsuit alleging climate change deceit, Reuters.

And I’m sharing this last story for the headline and to give me a chance to ask a question, Mass. Efficiency Program Draft Plan Should Be Scrapped, Senator Says, Net Zero Insider. So here is a question – we have a lot of really old housing stock here in Massachusetts. When creating more space in an old home – such as an attic renovation – why on earth is closed cell foam insulation – which is highly energy efficient – not part of the MassSave program? I welcome those in the know to respond.

Thank you for reading. Enjoy the many articles below and have a wonderful weekend.

Climate Change

New Jersey Utility Accelerates Net Zero Carbon Plan by 20 Years, Bloomberg Green

Communities in Massachusetts Fight for Right to Be Green, Net Zero Insider (subscriber content)

Mass. Cities Begin Acting on New State Climate Laws, Net Zero Insider

Has the Carbontech Revolution Begun?, New York Times

Bipartisan lawmakers back clean electricity standard, but fall short of Biden goal, The Hill

Shell Gets Greener, Even as Climate Advocates Say, ‘Go Faster,’ New York Times

Renewables/TCI/RGGI

Harnessing the tides: The future of renewable energy could begin in Cape Cod Canal, Cape Cod Times

It looks like CT’s Transportation Climate Initiative bill is dead. Now what?, CT Mirror

Regional initiative to cut road emissions wins RI Senate approval, Providence Journal

Legislators hope to make northern Maine a hub of renewable power exports, Bangor Daily News

Building New Renewables Is Cheaper Than Burning Fossil Fuels, Bloomberg Green

Majority of wind and solar power installed in 2020 cheaper than new coal-fired production: Irena, Recharge News

Renewables are seeing declines in cost and market value: What gives?, PV Magazine

Amazon and Other Tech Giants Race to Buy Up Renewable Energy Wall St. Journal

Atlantic salmon advocates angry about fish they say were injured during Waterville dam repair, Press Herald

Wind

Wind turbine efforts advance, Salem, state to partner on making port staging area, Salem News

Sen. Shaheen Backs Plan To Split Offshore Wind Lease Revenue Among Coastal States, NHPR

Coastal regulators look to standardize wind farm compensation deals to avoid disputes, Providence Business News

New group spotlights New York offshore supply chain, Renews.biz

Feds to start environmental review for wind farm off South Shore, News Day

Video Simulation Shows What Empire Wind Project, Off Long Island And N.J., Will Look Like From Shore, CBS New York

Can Massive Cargo Ships Use Wind to Go Green?,  New York Times

Bill meant to speed development of offshore windmills heads to governor’s desk, NJ.com

Offshore Wind in NJ: Meeting the state’s clean energy and economic goals, NJ Spotlight

NJ Shore Towns Want Say Over Offshore Wind Projects, Push Back on Legislative Proposal, NBC Philadelphia

Solar

Medline in Uxbridge to install the largest rooftop solar array in Massachusetts, MassLive

NJ Solar Push Squeezes Farms, Net Zero Insider (subscriber content)

Can America’s Solar Power Industry Compete with China’s? One Firm Tries, Wall St. Journal

Falmouth town meeting to consider zoning changes for solar farm on golf course, Cape Cod Times

With Bee the Change, Weybridge Couple Fills Solar Fields With Insect-Friendly Habitat, 7 Days

Waldo Renewable Electric installs 47.52-kW rooftop solar project for Connecticut’s Running Brook Farms, Solar Power World

Efficiency/Storage

‘Reports of energy efficiency’s death are greatly exaggerated.’ The cost keeps falling as the resource grows, Utility Dive

Mass. Efficiency Program Draft Plan Should Be Scrapped, Senator Says, Net Zero Insider

Nation’s 1st “Net Zero” Hotel Takes Form, New Haven Independent

Maine becomes 9th US state to adopt energy storage deployment target, Energy Storage News

EVs

Electric Vehicles Seen Reaching Sales Supremacy by 2033, Faster Than Expected, Bloomberg Green

Newton has a ways to go in reaching electric vehicle goals, Boston Globe

Nuclear

Company: Yankee nuclear plant demolition remains in budget, WCAX

Gas/Oil/Fossil/Pipelines

Peabody commission hears concerns about planned power plant, Salem News

Power plant session draws protesters, Salem News

Connecticut Neighborhood Pushes Back Against Planned Fuel Cell Power Plant, WNPR

Intense divide over Tennessee Gas Pipeline expansion evident at county meeting, NJ Herald

Market/Grid/Policy/Prices, etc.

Interconnection issues jeopardize New England’s clean energy goals, PV Magazine

White House agrees to bipartisan infrastructure deal with $73B in power grid spending, Utility Dive

New York scrutiny: National Grid faces bribery investigation; revenues docked for Con Edison, NYSEG, RG&E, Utility Dive

US grid needs overhaul to keep up with renewable revolution, says GE exec, Sen. Heinrich, Utility Dive

The National Guard Just Simulated A Cyberattack That Brought Down Utilities Nationwide, The Drive

House passes broad bipartisan measure to help states fund energy cybersecurity efforts, Utility Dive

National labs identify priorities in modernizing U.S. electricity markets, PV Magazine

Trial dates set for utility cooperatives indicted in Kentucky Derby trips case, The Day

New York Bill Would Require Electric Utilities To Disclose Executive Salaries, Report Expenses, WSHU

Ethics commission again behind closed doors in CMP transmission line case, Press Herald

Drone inspection of power lines will be out of sight but not out of mind, Concord Monitor

Opinion

Stop sweetheart deals with state utilities, CommonWealth Magazine

Energy efficiency is a low-hanging fruit to combat climate change. So why can’t everyone get access to it?, Boston Globe

Social justice is a key issue in Mass. energy efficiency programs, Boston Globe

Lawmakers shouldn’t overlook gas tax increase to pay for infrastructure, transportation, Bangor Daily News

Opinion/Searson: RI should lead the way on renewable energy, Providence Journal

Week of 6/18/21

Climate Change

Earth is now trapping an ‘unprecedented’ amount of heat, NASA says, Washington Post

Renewables/TCI/RGGI

The US East Coast is set to become a green energy job powerhouse, Quartz (subscriber content)

A power play? Steam plant owner aims to decarbonize downtown with huge building project, Boston Globe

Confidence Among Renewable Energy Investors at an All-Time High: Report, Environment and Energy Leader

Schneider Electric, Citizens Energy Form Alliance for Microgrid, Renewable Projects

Wind

Shore towns want say over wind projects, push back on bill, AP

Solar

Why America Doesn’t Really Make Solar Panels Anymore, The Atlantic

The Dark Side of Solar Power, Harvard Business Review

Massachusetts group tests new model for solar on affordable housing projects, ENN

Efficiency/Storage

It’s not easy being green in Massachusetts, but here’s how., Boston Globe

Boston City Councilor Wants Big Buildings To Become Carbon Neutral, WBUR

Nexamp looks beyond solar, to storage and utility scale, Boston Inno

EVs

G-7 Drops Aim to Shift New Car Sales Away from Oil By 2030, Bloomberg Green

G.M. will increase investment in electric vehicles by 30 percent and build more battery plants., NY Times

Volkswagen Readies ‘Massive’ Rejig to U.S. Plans on Biden’s EV Shift, Bloomberg Green

America’s Electric Vehicle Future, WBUR

Nuclear

U.S. nuclear regulator approves fuel for next-generation reactors, Reuters

Gas/Oil/Fossil/Pipelines

Oil Price Hits Pandemic High as Investors Bet on Green Energy, Wall St. Journal

Market/Grid/Policy/Prices, etc.

Maine Senate Approves Utility Takeover Bill, Gov. Mills Signals Veto Is Imminent, Maine Public

Eversource and UI appeal Connecticut regulators’ financial hit for Tropical Storm Isaias response, Hartford Courant

Utilities to DOE: More information, not new regulations, needed to secure the grid, Utility Dive

Mass. Residents Think Regulators Can Improve Public Engagement, RTO Insider (subscriber content)

To address transmission issues, FERC and NARUC agree to tackle barriers through a new task force, PV Magazine

Opinion

Hybrid storage and renewable projects are popular. Are they the best for the market,? Utility Dive

Mass. should set 100% clean energy mandate, CommonWealth Magazine

Transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy is necessary, inevitable (Guest viewpoint), MassLive

Training underway to meet offshore wind industry demand for jobs, Barnstable Patriot