Tag Archives: Maura Healey

April 2, 2021 · 5:11 pm

Energy News for week ending April 2, 2021

Big week for OSW | Overcharged | It’s going to hurt

Happy Friday folks. It’s opening day at Fenway! Spring has officially sprung.

Here’s what’s big news and/or interesting this week.

It was a two-fer week for the energy industry with President Biden’s release of his huge offshore wind and infrastructure plans. We have included a lot of article links below with both local and national perspectives. Suffice to say, a lot of people are excited at the possibilities these plans bring. Of course there is caution about how much gets through Congress and the multiple hurdles to overcome – for example the siting and permitting of transmission.

In other news, MA AG Maura Healey released a report finding that Massachusetts residents who get their power through competitive electric suppliers paid $426 million more over five years than they would have if they’d stayed with their utility companies. State House News Service via WWLP has the story.

And from Jon Chesto at the Globe, “The heating oil industry is fired up about a proposal to take away energy-efficiency rebates from its customers as part of a state-led effort to wean homeowners off fossil fuels. At issue are priorities endorsed March 24 by the Energy Efficiency Advisory Council that includephasing out Mass Save rebates for new oil-fired systems for heat and hot water, as well as no-interest loans for homeowners to install them,as soon as January. Rebates for natural gas-fired and propane installations would be ratcheted back significantly. ‘It’s simply not fair,’ said Michael Ferrante, president of the Massachusetts Energy Marketers Association. ‘I wouldn’t say it’s going to cripple the industry. But it’s going to hurt us. And it’s going to hurt heating oil customers.’”

Enjoy the weekend and stay safe!

President Biden’s OSW & Infrastructure Plans

Biden touts offshore wind plan, Cape Cod Times

How to build an industry to support offshore wind, CommonWealth Magazine

Global wind industry could install almost 1 TW of new capacity by 2030, report says, Reuters

Biden Envisions Thousands of Wind Turbines Spinning at Sea, Bloomberg Green

Under Biden, will offshore wind finally drive major energy gains in the U.S.?, PBS News Hour

Biden Blueprint Seeks to Unleash Offshore Wind Energy, State House News Service

Biden sets big goal for offshore wind, CommonWealth Magazine

US Adds Offshore Wind Area off New York, RTO Insider

Biden to Push Offshore Wind Projects, Wall St. Journal

White House pushes new offshore wind power expansion, Politico

Biden makes push to expand offshore wind energy, Seafood Source

Renewable-Energy Backers Want 10-Year Tax Credits in Biden Plan, Bloomberg Green

Biden Infrastructure Plan Targets Electric Cars, Clean Power, Bloomberg Green

Biden’s infrastructure plan aims to turbocharge U.S. shift from fossil fuels, Washington Post

Biden’s Big Infrastructure Plan Would Further Boost Renewable Energy, Wall St. Journal

Climate Change

Old data slows climate change efforts, Eagle Tribune

Companies Ask Their Customers to Help Them Cut Emissions, Wall St. Journal

Massachusetts’ landmark climate law, Grist.org

Mills commits state agencies to ‘lead by example’ in climate change fight, Press Herald

Massachusetts new climate change bill ‘worth waiting for,’ Cape Cod Times

Global forest losses accelerated despite the pandemic, threatening world’s climate goals, Washington Post

Renewables/RGGI/TCI

The ‘Green Energy’ That Might Be Ruining the Planet, Politico

Mass. clean energy sector lost nearly 20,000 jobs in 2020, Boston Business Journal

The U.S. is finally looking to unlock the potential of wave energy, grist.org

Large consumers blame renewables for 2020 declines in C&I power reliability, Utility Dive

Latest FERC reports show renewables significantly out-performed nuclear power in 2020, Solar Power World

Wind

Northeast governors need Biden to deliver on offshore wind, Politico

Footprint rallying behind offshore wind, Salem News

Classes on offshore wind may become an option for New Bedford High School students, South Coast Today

Big Wind Turbines Prove No Deadlier to Wildlife Than Small Units, Bloomberg Green

Massachusetts law authorises 2.4 GW more offshore wind by 2027, Renewables Now

Solar

Schneider Microgrid and Energy Savings Program Could Cut Jersey City Costs by $21M, Microgrid Knowledge

Efficiency/Storage

The design space for long-duration energy storage in decarbonized power systems, Nature.com

EVs

Thinking of buying an electric vehicle? Read this first., Washington Post

Electric bus push behind MBTA’s purchase of Quincy property, WHDH

Elon Musk Likes This EV Battery and It Costs Less—but the U.S. Isn’t Sold on It, Wall St. Journal

Xiaomi Enters Electric Vehicle Market With $10 Billion Commitment, Wall St. Journal

Nuclear

White House Wants Nuclear in Clean Energy Mandate, McCarthy Says, Bloomberg Green

New Mexico files lawsuit to block Holtec nuclear waste facility, cites risk to oil and gas, Carlsbad Current Argus

How long can a nuclear plant run? Regulators consider 100 years, Utility Dive

New Mexico sues U.S. over proposed nuclear waste storage plans, PBS News Hour

Natural Gas/Pipelines/Oil/Drilling

Drillers Burned Off Gas at a Staggering Rate as Winter Storm Hit Texas, New York Times

As the Shift to Green Energy Speeds Up, Shell’s Big Natural-Gas Bet Is at Risk, Wall St. Journal

‘It’s going to hurt us’: Heating oil industry fights effort to eliminate state’s rebates, Boston Globe

Hearing on re-powering Hudson Valley gas plant draws lots of speakers, Times Union

Market/Grid/Policy/Prices

AG finds non-utility customers overcharged for electricity, WWLP

NYPA approves transmission line rebuild, targeting $447M in annual savings, 1 GW new capacity, Utility Dive

Biden Team Boosts Effort to Shield Power Grid From Hackers, Bloomberg

Appeals court hears arguments in CMP power line case, Press Herald

Lawyers clash over $1B hydropower transmission corridor, Salem News

Opinion

Climate change already causing power grid issues, CommonWealth Magazine

Columnist Marty Nathan: Biomass a ‘misbegotten’ climate change trend, Daily Hampshire Gazette

What’s missing from the climate change legislation,? CommonWealth Magazine

Hold on to your seats. FERC just hit the fast forward button on the clean energy transition., Utility Dive

Energy News for week ending June 5, 2020

Natural Gas Be Gone | Compressor Ups and Downs | Efficiency: Cheaper Than Gas

Happy Friday afternoon.

Well, it’s not been a very good week for natural gas, especially in Massachusetts.

We start with an article from CommonWealth Magazine, “Healey calls for orderly transition away from natural gas. Attorney General Maura Healey petitioned the Department of Public Utilities on Thursday to investigate how the state’s natural gas utilities should transition to a future where the fuel they are selling no longer fits in with the state’s carbon emission goals. Massachusetts has set a goal of zero carbon emissions by 2050, and Healey argues the state, natural gas utilities, and their customers need to start planning…Healey recommended the investigation be conducted in two phases – one phase focusing on utility forecasts about their role in a decarbonized economy and the second on the policies needed to reach the state’s emission mandates. Her petition raises a host of questions that need to be answered, including whether renewable natural gas (gas made from cow manure, for example) has potential. The attorney general’s petition comes at a time when environmental advocates are pressing for a reduction in natural gas usage even as industry officials say the fuel is cheap, plentiful, and gaining market share.”

Note – the State House News reported today that “The first step for the Department of Public Utilities, an official said, is to review Attorney General Maura Healey’s filing to determine whether the request is within the jurisdiction of the DPU. If the department determines that it is, then it will decide whether it would be appropriate to launch the investigation and what its scope would be.” (subscriber content)

We stay in Massachusetts for our next two stories, both about the natural gas compressor station in Weymouth. On Wednesday, the State House News Service via Wicked Local Weymouth wrote, “Air permit for Weymouth gas project overturned. A federal appeals court vacated an air permit Massachusetts regulators awarded to a controversial natural gas project, ruling Wednesday that the state did not sufficiently assess emissions-reducing technology set to be used. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit scrapped the air permit for Enbridge’s under-construction natural gas compressor station in Weymouth and ordered the state Department of Environmental Protection to conduct a new analysis of what would be the best available control technology to limit air pollution. In a lengthy decision Wednesday, Judge William Kayatta said the permit cannot stand because the DEP did not follow its own procedures when it approved a turbine rather than an electric motor to cut emissions.”

The next day however, the State House New Reported, via WGBH that, “Celebration May Be Premature For Gas Project Opponents. A celebratory car parade is planned for Saturday, but even the opponents of a natural gas compressor station in Weymouth say a new court ruling in their favor will not stop project construction. ‘Although Enbridge may continue constructing, they cannot operate this facility without the air quality permit,’ Fore River Residents Against the Compressor Station wrote in an email to its supporters Thursday morning. ‘And, it gives us more room to fight to stop it from ever operating…’ Kayatta’s decision also includes components that are favorable to Enbridge and the Department of Environmental Protection.”

The last highlight for this week comes from Utility Dive, “Efficiency significantly cheaper than natural gas, DOE study concludes. Natural gas energy efficiency programs run by utilities saved energy at a cost of about $0.40/therm from 2012 to 2017 — less than half of the national average retail price of gas during that period, according to new research from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Gas cost about $1/therm during those years, according to researchers, and U.S. households and businesses spent approximately $65 billion on utility-supplied natural gas in 2018. In that same year, utilities spent more than $1.4 billion on gas efficiency programs, according to the American Gas Association (AGA) which represents gas delivery companies. Efficiency advocates say there are even more savings to be had through the electrification of end-uses — something the study did not consider. They say the gas industry may be building unnecessary infrastructure. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, around 90% of proposed gas power plants and their pipelines are likely to be unnecessary by 2035.”

That’s the recap for this week. Have a great weekend and as always, stay safe.

Natural Gas/Oil/Pipeline/Drilling

Healey asks DPU to lead on clean energy transition, WWLP

Healey calls for orderly transition away from natural gas, CommonWealth Magazine

Celebration May Be Premature For Gas Project Opponents, WGBH

Air permit for Weymouth gas project overturned, Wicked Local Weymouth

E.P.A. Limits States’ Power to Oppose Pipelines and Other Energy Projects, New York Times

Investment in U.S. Shale Projects to Halve in 2020, IEA Says, Wall St. Journal

Climate Change/Renewables/RGGI

This is how the oceans can be used to help fight climate change, World Economic Forum

Earth’s carbon dioxide levels hit record high, despite coronavirus-related emissions drop, Washington Post

Responding to protests, green groups reckon with a racist past, Grist.org