Tag Archives: natural gas

Up first is a story from Grist about Massachusetts’ look into the future of the natural gas industry. While we covered this in last week’s edition, there are a few more insights in this story. “Massachusetts may be a climate leader in the U.S., with a goal to reduce economy-wide emissions in the state to net-zero by 2050, but it will face a major obstacle along the way: More than 1.3 million of its households make it through those cold New England winters by burning natural gas. Roughly one-third of the state’s emissions come from the fuels burned in buildings for heating, hot water, and cooking. Now the state is responding to pressure from its attorney general, Maura Healey, to take a look at what the path to net-zero in the building sector might look like, particularly for the gas companies whose entire reason for existing could be eliminated in the process. Last week, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) officially opened a new proceeding to start guiding utilities into a decarbonized future while protecting their customers. As the number of people using the gas system shrinks over time, the cost of maintaining reliable service for remaining ratepayers could balloon. ‘It’s a really complicated set of issues as you look at what’s going to be happening on the gas side as people peel off,’ said Susan Tierney, a senior advisor and energy expert at the Analysis Group, an economic consulting firm. ‘There’s real trade-offs about affordability of supply, safety of service.’…Audrey Schulman and Zeyneb Magavi, co-executive directors of the Massachusetts–based environmental nonprofit HEET, applauded the new inquiry, but they are concerned that the process it outlines will result in a one-sided picture of what’s possible, and could stymie more creative solutions.”

The fight in Maine against the New England Clean Energy Connect project hasn’t ended. From the Press Herald, “A new referendum drive aimed at stopping a 145-mile hydropower transmission corridor in western Maine is underway. The Maine secretary of state on Friday provided the paperwork necessary for signature collection to begin, and referendum supporters plan to be at polling places with petitions on Election Day. ‘With a decision this important, Mainers deserve to be heard, but so far during the permitting process, their overwhelming opposition to this project has fallen on deaf ears,’ said Tom Saviello, a former state lawmaker who opposes the project. It would be the second referendum targeting Central Maine Power’s $1 billion New England Clean Energy Connect, which aims to serve as a conduit for up to 1,200 megawatts of Canadian hydropower to reach New England. The project would be fully funded by Massachusetts ratepayers, but the entire region would benefit through reduced greenhouse emissions and stabilization of energy prices, supporters say. Critics say the benefits are overstated and that the project would spoil part of Maine’s North Woods.”

Last up this week is an interesting story from the Wall St. Journal about a new way to help stem methane emissions. “Cows Make Climate Change Worse. Could Seaweed Help? Scientists have spent years coaxing a fussy red seaweed called asparagopsis into cultivation. Their plan: to feed the underwater plant to cows and sheep in an effort to make the animals less environmentally destructive. The belching and flatulence of livestock release large quantities of methane and make up around 4% of global greenhouse-gas emissions, according to data from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization. That’s equivalent to the amount contributed by Japan and Germany combined. Seaweed alters bovine digestion, reducing the methane an animal produces by 80% or more, according to scientists at the University of California, Davis, and Australia’s national science agency. It is one of the plants and chemicals that meat and dairy businesses are experimenting with to reduce their contribution to global warming.” And if you’re looking for ways to cut back on your beef and lamb intake, the Bangor Daily News offers up this alternative, How to hunt and prepare squirrel meat.

That’s the recap for this week. Have a wonderful weekend.

Efficiency/Storage

Study: Long Island’s smallest power plants could be replaced by trailer-sized batteries, Newsday

New York City Becomes The Most Energy Efficient City In ACEEE Scorecard 2020, Construction Review

Revamped Energy Efficiency Programs Are the Key to Deep Carbon Reductions, Greentech Media

New York Housing Authority announces new bold commitment to electrification, Greenbiz

Efficiency meets style in this net-zero home in Jamestown, Rhode Island Monthly

Climate Change/Renewables/RGGI

Hydrogen is having a moment, and power generation is leading the way, Utility Dive

The State of Carbon Capture, Removal and Utilization, Greentech Media

Cows Make Climate Change Worse. Could Seaweed Help,? Wall St. Journal

Look Ahead, Vermont: Global Warming Solutions Act takes first steps as Climate Council appointees named, Brattleboro Reformer

Environmental groups press Murphy to reject regional anti-pollution pact. They say it’s not bold enough, NJ Spotlight

Maine regulators deny requests to reconsider renewable energy projects, Bangor Daily News

Voters give non-binding ballot questions on renewable energy, open-door government widespread support, Hampshire Daily Gazette

Museum of the Earth unable to promote climate change exhibit amid 2020 election, Ithaca Voice

Local elections are changing America’s energy mix, one city at a time, The Verge

Are renewable energy targets useful? Analysts dispute new study questioning their value, Utility Dive

If true geothermal arrives here, it’ll have to be around Conway, Granite Geek

Latest Rhode Island Green Report Card Gives Statehouse an ‘Incomplete and Lacking Leadership,’ EcoRI

A Bipartisan Climate Policy? It Could Happen Under a Biden Administration, Washington Veterans Say, Inside Climate News

Wind

First offshore wind farm goes offline: An industry warning,? E&E News

Shipbuilding on the ballot? Offshore wind sees an opening, E&E News

Rhode Island in Position for Offshore Wind Power Grab, EcoRI

Solar

New firm will optimize performance of New England solar projects, Vermont Biz

Farmington approves land lease for solar project, Sun Journal

EVs

Patchogue Village purchases first electric car, Long Island Advance

Nuclear

Shipping industry should consider nuclear option for decarbonizing: experts, S&P Global Platts

Holtec accelerates US NRC design certification for SMR-160, Nuclear Engineering International

Natural Gas/Oil/Pipeline/Drilling

Can gas utilities survive the energy transition? Massachusetts is going to find out., Grist

Gas workers call on lawmakers to improve safety, Salem News

In effort to curb emissions, state regulators probe the future of natural gas in Massachusetts, Boston Globe

Gas supply rates rise for Eversource customers; increase driven by market forces, not purchase of former Columbia Gas, MassLive

Tennessee Gas and contractor to pay $800,000 in penalties, repairs over controversial natural gas project in Otis State Forest, MassLive

Final order on Eversource gas rates announced, WickedLocal Hanover

Cold Weather Thaws Natural-Gas Prices, Wall St. Journal

Thousands in Derby, Ansonia lose natural gas service, Stamford Advocate

St. Albans meadery converting to 100% renewable natural gas to fight climate change, Burlington Free Press

Market/Grid/Policy/Prices

Opponents of CMP hydropower corridor launch new referendum drive, Press Herald

PURA Opts for Existing Programs Over Shutoff Moratorium, CT Examiner

CMP hydropower project wins key permit, likely to start construction soon, Bangor Daily News

Trump ousts Chatterjee, taps Danly to lead FERC, Utility Dive

Eversource: Tropical Storm Isaias restoration topped $275 million, still counting costs, CT Insider

Larger, vertically-integrated utilities better prepared to face cyber threats, says Moody’s, Utility Dive

Massachusetts Blazes Its Own Trail on Distributed Energy Policy, Greentech Media (subscriber content)

National Grid’s Massachusetts president to retire, Boston Globe

MASSCAP, Action Inc. launch heating help awareness campaign, Wicked Local Gloucester

Eversource Proposes Rate Increase In CT, Cites Generation Costs, Patch.com

Eversource submits proposal for winter rate increase, says they won’t profit, Fox 61

‘Totally worth it’: Chatterjee speculates DER order, carbon pricing are behind Trump ousting him, Utility Dive

Opinion

Maine Voices: New plan to kill CMP corridor will have unintended consequences, centralmaine.com

How to Overcome Barriers to Community Microgrids, Microgrid Knowledge

Give community power a chance, by Mary Ewell, Keene Sentinel

Tree Talk: Renewable wood energy, Sun Journal

Op-Ed: NJ needs to rethink Energy Master Plan, prioritize affordable energy, NJ Spotlight

We don’t have to wipe out farmland to grow solar energy in N.J. | Opinion, NJ.com

Pull plug on destructive Quebec hydropower proposal, Albany Times Union

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Filed under Climate Change, Electric Grid, Electricity Costs, New England Energy News, Northeast Energy News, offshore wind, solar

Tagged as climate change, Eversource, geothermal, hydrogen, methane, National Grid, natural gas, New England Clean Energy Connect

October 30, 2020 · 4:30 pm

Energy News for week ending October 30, 2020

Rethink the future| Optimistic | It was in Niagara Falls…

Happy snowy Friday folks. I hear next week at this time we may hit 70 degrees. Ah, life in New England.

Maybe it was unintentional but given the nature of the story maybe not. Regardless, I love the photo of the upside down burner that accompanies this piece from CommonWealth Magazine, “DPU orders gas utilities to rethink their future. The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities on Thursday ordered the state’s natural gas utilities to jointly hire consultants and come up with a way to dramatically phase down or eliminate their businesses over the next 30 years. The order is a response to Gov. Charlie Baker’s call for net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. It asks for strategies to achieve that goal ‘while simultaneously safeguarding ratepayer interests; ensuring safe, reliable, and cost-effective natural gas service; and potentially recasting the role of LDCs [local distribution companies] in the Commonwealth.’”

If the gas utilities aren’t feeling positive, according to the Boston Business Journal the cleantech folks are seeing the glass half full. “Mass. clean energy leaders are optimistic about future growth. How disruptive an influence has the coronavirus been on the clean energy industry this year? A recent report from BW Research Partnership showed that the U.S. clean energy sector added 12,500 jobs in September, ‘leaving just under half a million (477,900) clean energy workers out of work since February this year – an almost 14 percent decline over pre-Covid-19 employment levels.’ The report further suggests the sector has been slower to rebound than others on a national level. Of the 17 firms that have appeared on the two most recent versions of the BBJ’s Largest Clean Energy Companies list, seven companies reported year-over-year increases in local headcount, four stayed flat, and six reported decreases (although, in at least a couple of cases, the drops were minor, relatively speaking). ‘While Massachusetts continues to be a leader in clean energy employment, there is no doubt that the Covid-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the industry,’ said Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) CEO Steve Pike. ’However, Massachusetts’ commitment to combatting climate change and to growing its clean energy economy sets the stage for not just recovering those lost jobs, but also dramatic growth in the years to come.’”

Our last feature story comes from Niagara Falls which when hearing of that place I confess it always makes me think of this Three Stooges episode. That aside, it’s a cool story about water-based transit. From the Washington Post, “A new era in maritime travel: Electric boats. Maid of the Mist in Niagara Falls has launched North America’s first all-electric, zero-emissions tour boats. With the sun streaming into the Niagara Gorge, visitors lined up in socially distanced groups waiting to shuffle onto the Maid of the Mist, the boats that have ferried tourists to the base of Niagara Falls for the past 174 years. Whether they knew it or not, these passengers were experiencing a new era of maritime transportation: boats powered by electricity. Earlier this month, the Maid of the Mist launched two electric catamarans into the gorge, the first of their kind in North America. The hulking double-deckers run on dual banks of lithium-ion batteries. All the power used to charge the batteries is supplied by the nearby Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant, one of the most productive hydroelectric facilities in the United States, making the boats a zero-emission operation. Maid of the Mist is at the forefront of what observers say is an emerging trend in maritime operations.”

That’s the recap for this week. Have a safe and fun Halloween and don’t forget to fall back Saturday night.

Efficiency/Storage

Eversource creates online hub for energy efficient services with City of Boston, Daily Energy Insider

NH Guard strives for net-zero energy use at training site, Army.mil

Climate Change/Renewables/RGGI

RI climate suit to stay in state court, ProJo

Mass. clean energy leaders are optimistic about future growth, Boston Business Journal

Exclusive: GM, Ford knew about climate change 50 years ago, E&E News

A woman warned GM about warming. Men didn’t listen, E&E News

As Climate Disasters Pile Up, a Radical Proposal Gains Traction, New York Times

‘It just goes into a black hole,’ Grist.org

‘Sleeping giant’ Arctic methane deposits starting to release, scientists find, The Guardian

At the intersection of clean energy and bluetech, BlueGreen Innovation Challenge emerges, RhodeIslandInno

Trump’s pullback of pollution controls is even more hazardous than you think, Vox.com

Unlimited, on-demand renewable energy anywhere in the world — is Eavor-Loop climate change’s holy grail?, Recharge

Poll: NJ voters strongly support investing in clean energy as part of pandemic recovery, NJ Insider

DEP warns environmentalists not to prejudge climate regulation review, NJ Spotlight

UMass Boston report shows that climate change views vary by race, Dorchester Reporter

Cuomo adviser: New York is “putting equity at the center” of climate work, Axios

NJ Transit Switches to Renewables for Microgrid, Plans Nov. 25 Solicitation, Microgrid Knowledge

Kennebunkport selectmen explore goals for tackling climate change, Seacoastonline.com

Wind

Vineyard Wind Secures Transmission Agreement With ISO-NE, Power Magazine

RI set to double down on offshore wind power, ProJo

Floating Offshore Wind Turbines Set to Make Inroads in U.S., Scientific America (E&E News)

FERC Pushed to Change Tx Rules for OSW, RTO Insider (Subscriber content)

How the Virus Slowed the Booming Wind Energy Business, New York Times

Falmouth no closer to dismantling wind turbines Town officials frustrated by state actions, Cape Cod Times

Ørsted Looks to Soften Impact of US Permitting Delays With Bigger Turbines, Greentech media

Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia partnering on offshore wind energy development, The Hill

Solar

Wind remains cheaper, but solar’s costs are falling faster, Lazard finds, Utility Dive

New Solar Projects Save Energy Costs Across Cape, Capecod.com

This spooky Halloween display in Western Massachusetts is completely solar powered, MassLive

42-acre solar farm proposed on Bucksport Road, Ellsworth American

Gray solar array on track for December completion, Press Herald

Seneca Nation calls on solar developer to ‘cease and desist’ following bone discovery, Livingston County News

EVs

A new era in maritime travel: Electric boats, Washington Post

Auto Makers Shift Their Hydrogen Focus to Big Rigs, Wall St. Journal

Trump administration funds projects to more efficiently charge and deploy electric buses, Utility Dive

Electric vehicles see state-level gains, The Hill

Nuclear

NRC names new inspector at Seabrook nuclear power plant, Seacoast Online

NuScale Faces Questions on Nuclear Reactor Safety and Financing Its First Project, Greentech Media

Natural Gas/Oil/Pipeline/Drilling

DPU Opens Look Into Natural Gas Industry, State House News Service via WBUR

RI regulators approve natural gas rate increases but defer bill impacts, ProJo

Beacon Hill’s Iconic Gas Lamps Are Going Green, WBUR

Healey wades into debate over Weymouth gas compressor station, WHDH

Town’s public safety officials offer plan for compressor station emergency, Patriot Ledger

Activist group urges Eversource CEO to scrap plans for regional natural gas pipeline, MassLive

National Grid looks to move LNG facility off Old Mill Lane in Portsmouth; Middletown wants say, Newport Daily News

Company plans biorefinery for zero-emission heating oil in Maine, Press Herald

In Battleground Pennsylvania, Fracking and Renewables Compete to Be the Future of Energy, Wall St. Journal

Market/Grid/Policy/Prices

Gov. Cuomo proposes bill to ‘dramatically increase penalties’ for NY utility storm response failures, Utility Dive

CMP goes back to the future in bid to calm customers, short-circuit revolt, Press Herald

Lawsuit seeks environmental review of Maine energy project, AP News

Mainers encouraged to apply for jobs on controversial power line, Sun Journal

Advocates press state regulators to extend moratoriums on power utility shut-offs, CT Post

NYS Public Service Commission to identify transmission projects to meet clean energy goals, Daily Energy Insider

How Does Your State Make Electricity?, New York Times

Tesla microgrids spread as U.S. grid ‘gets worse and worse,’ E&E News

Opinion

Another Voice: Hydrogen, natural gas make a dynamic energy duo, Buffalo News

Op-Ed: Here’s how NJ can protect consumers and state clean-energy policy from feds’ fossil fuel favors, NJ Spotlight

The US power sector has prevented millions of cyberattacks in 2020 — that takes 24/7 commitment, Utility Dive

Op-Ed: ‘Blue holes’ offer New Jersey unique opportunity for solar development, NJ Spotlight

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Filed under Climate Change, Electric Grid, Energy Efficiency, Natural Gas Pipelines, New England Energy News, Northeast Energy News, offshore wind

Tagged as electric vehicles, Massachusetts, natural gas, New England Clean Energy Connect, Rhode Island

August 7, 2020 · 11:42 am

Energy News for week ending August 7, 2020

Path to Survival | One Billion Dollars | Clean Peak

Happy Friday folks.

We start this week’s recap with a story from Greentech Media, “Massachusetts Pilot Project Offers Gas Utilities a Possible Path to Survival. Utility Eversource is partnering on Boston-area district geothermal pilots as the state contemplates a gas-free future for buildings. In June, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey asked the state’s Department of Public Utilities to open an investigation into the future of natural-gas companies in the state…The attorney general’s office asked utility regulators to explore the potential for a range of alternatives to decarbonize heating, including building electrification, energy efficiency and ‘geothermal network applications.’ The last option is a nod to work by the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based nonprofit Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET) to advance a concept called the GeoMicroDistrict, which would see heat pumps in individual buildings transferring thermal energy between a shared district water loop and their own heating and cooling distribution systems. In such a system, gas companies could deliver thermal energy instead of gas — minus the carbon, says Audrey Schulman, HEET’s co-executive director.”

Next we shift to NY news with this story from Grist, “New York is spending $1 billion to help residents conserve energy — and lower their bills. As summer heat waves converge with a surging pandemic and an impending economic collapse, energy-efficient homes are becoming particularly critical to Americans’ well-being. Millions now face tough choices when it comes to energy usage: The longer they stay home to stay safe from both scorching heat and COVID-19, the higher their utility bills climb. New York’s state government, for its part, is eyeing a long-term solution to this conundrum. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is collaborating with the region’s investor-owned utilities to provide clean and energy-efficient solutions to more than 350,000 low-to-moderate income households throughout the state. The collaboration aims to more than double the number of lower-income households that have access to services like voluntary electric load reduction, as well as better insulation and air sealing for more efficient cooling and heating, according to an announcement from Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office last week. The initiative will also provide education and community support programs to connect these upgrades to the households most in need.”

For the last highlight of this week we look to a State House News story brought to us by MassLive. “New program aims to sub in clean power during peak energy periods. The Baker administration rolled out the final regulations Tuesday for a first-in-the-nation financial incentive program that aims to promote clean energy generation to supply power when demand on the grid is at its highest, and officials said it will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save ratepayers money. The clean peak energy standard would require every retail electric supplier with a contract signed or extended since the start of 2019 to provide a minimum percentage of its kilowatt-hour sales to end-use customers in Massachusetts from ‘clean peak’ resources — renewables, energy storage systems or ‘clean energy technologies that can supply electricity or reduce demand during seasonal peak demand periods.’ The idea is to address periods of the greatest demand on the electric grid — when power generators sometimes turn to dirtier fossil fuels.”

Have a great weekend and as always, stay safe.

Energy Efficiency/Storage

New York is spending $1 billion to help residents conserve energy — and lower their bills, Grist

Mandated energy efficiency scores would influence home buying: ACEEE, Utility Dive

Mass. launches financing program for business energy projects, Worcester Business Journal

As grant-funded lighting project nears end, town struggles to meet long-term energy goals, Harvard Press

Climate Change/Renewables/RGGI

CT’s long road to replace nuclear power with wind and solar, Middletown Press

Report suggests increasing pumped storage could cut electric costs and carbon emissions, Water Power Magazine

Who Will Own the Hydrogen Future: Oil Companies or Power Utilities?, Greentech Media

Report: Climate Change Raises Flood Risks For Superfund Sites In N.H., Elsewhere, NHPR

Report: ‘Total decarbonization’ would create 25M jobs, E&E News

The Worst-Case Scenario for Global Warming Tracks Closely With Actual Emissions, Inside Climate News

New program aims to sub in clean power during peak energy periods, State House News via Taunton Daily Gazette

Massachusetts lawmakers in climate policy bill conference committee snuff out carbon emissions, State House News Service via MassLive

Which states are making the most progress on emissions? Not the ones you think., Grist

Investors launch climate plan to get to net zero emissions by 2050, Reuters

Hurricane, Fire, Covid-19: Disasters Expose the Hard Reality of Climate Change, New York Times

Rising temperatures will cause more deaths than all infectious diseases – study, The Guardian

How falling solar costs have renewed clean hydrogen hopes, MIT Technology Review

Wind

Massachusetts puts grid backbone on the back burner, 4C Offshore

CT’s largest ever renewable energy investment nears final approval, Hartford Business Journal

URI Researcher to Map Commercial Fishing Activity to Reduce Conflict Between Industry and Energy Projects, EcoRI

Floating Offshore Wind on Cusp of Unlocking Big Source of Finance, Experts Say, Greentech Media

U.S. Offshore Wind Needs to Clear a Key Hurdle: Connecting to the Grid, Scientific American

Offshore wind report forecasts $1.7B of revenue from new federal lease auctions by 2022, Utility dive

GE plans to give offshore wind energy a supercomputing boost, The Verge

Maine’s $100M Floating Offshore Wind Project Finds Major Backers: RWE and Mitsubishi, Greentech Media

Solar

Newark launches $10 million project to install solar panels, other energy efficiency upgrades, Newark Post

EVs

GM, EVgo to install 2,700 electric-vehicle charging stations, Detroit News

Global Electric Vehicle Cords Top 1 Million, Bloomberg

A new kind of command car at Kennebunk Fire Department, Press Herald

Nuclear

Smaller Nuclear Plants May Come With Less Stringent Safety Rules, NPR

Natural Gas/Oil/Pipeline/Drilling

Massachusetts Pilot Project Offers Gas Utilities a Possible Path to Survival, Greentech Media

Gas safety legislation stalls on Beacon Hill, Salem News

As natural gas bans go national, can cities fill the gap?, E&E News

How climate and business woes are sinking a natural-gas project, Axios

Oil and Gas Groups See ‘Some Common Ground’ in Biden Energy Plan, New York Times

Market/Grid/Policy/Prices

Opponents debate merits of Maine hydro project, Codcast CommonWealth Magazine (audio)

Maine’s high court wrestles with lawsuit holding major implications for CMP corridor, Bangor Daily News

Eversource faces the wrath of Connecticut officials as more than 600,000 remain without electricity cut by Tropical Storm Isaias, Hartford Current

Storm recovery upsets Norwich Public Utilities cost-cutting efforts, The Day

Municipalities who own power plants not zapped by electricity price hikes, WTNH (CT)

After a week of complaints, utility regulators temporarily pull plug on Eversource rate hike, CT Mirror

New Jersey’s PSEG Seeks to Sell Merchant Fossil, Solar Fleet, Greentech Media

New York And Connecticut Call For Probes Into Utility Companies’ Response To Isaias, NPR

Con Edison seeks approval to offer access to green power, Queens Gazette

Eversource: Some rate relief approved for electric customers, MassLive

Opinion/Editorial

Getting rid of fossil fuels in buildings, CommonWealth Magazine

The Importance of Microgrids for Marginalized Communities, Microgrid Knowledge

House takes baby steps on climate change, CommonWealth Magazine

Columnist Marty Nathan: Legislature’s opaque process hurts climate fight, Daily Hampshire Gazette

Why the CMP corridor is a bad deal for Maine and the climate, Maine Beacon

Best climate change policy you’ve never heard of, CommonWealth Magazine

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Filed under Climate Change, Electric Grid, Electricity Costs, Energy Efficiency, New England Energy News, Northeast Energy News, offshore wind

Tagged as Central Maine Power, electric rates, energy efficiency, Eversource, Green Hydrogen, natural gas, New England Clean Energy Connect

July 24, 2020 · 1:04 pm

Energy News for week ending July 24, 2020

Reluctantly Rejected | Wind that Works

Happy Friday.

It’s been a fairly quiet week for energy news, so we’ll keep it short.

From Commonwealth Magazine, “Healey reluctantly rejects Brookline bylaw. Measure banned most oil, gas pipes in new buildings. Attorney General Maura Healey’s office on Tuesday reluctantly shot down a bylaw approved by the town of Brookline that would have barred the installation of most fossil fuel infrastructure in any new buildings or significant rehabs of existing buildings. In a 12-page ruling, Healey applauded the town’s bid to start addressing greenhouse gas emissions but said the bylaw approved overwhelmingly by town meeting members in November is preempted by the state building code, gas code, and a law giving the Department of Public Utilities oversight of the sale and distribution of natural gas in Massachusetts.”

Also from CommonWealth Magazine we have, “Bernhardt eager for offshore wind ‘that works.’ Secretary Of The Interior David Bernhardt flew into Boston on Tuesday where he defended putting Vineyard Wind, the nation’s first large-scale wind farm, on hold for more than a year and promised a key permitting decision on the project in December that will work for both wind developers and fishing interests. Bernhardt, whose boss, President Trump, has shown little interest in offshore wind, said he is eager to launch the offshore wind industry. ‘I am very eager to do it, but I am eager to do it in a way that works,’ he said. ‘Let me give you an example. In the West we do wind. You know where we don’t put a windmill? In the middle of a highway. You can drive all the roads in the west and you’re not going to drive into a windmill.’ His comment appeared to be a reference to concerns of fishing groups that wind turbines would block access to fishing grounds and hamper navigation. ‘We don’t whack people with an unnecessary burden if we can avoid it and do things sustainably,’ he said. ‘I need a development program that is done in a way that’s sustainable for everybody.’”

Have a great weekend and as always, stay safe.

Climate Change/Renewables/RGGI

The most powerful renewable energy, BBC

Study of emissions and virus deaths implicates EPA policy, E&E News

Climate Change Poses ‘Systemic Threat’ to the Economy, Big Investors Warn, New York Times

Global Warming Is Driving Polar Bears Toward Extinction, Researchers Say, New York Times

Rich Americans spew more carbon pollution at home than poor, AP

Major new climate study rules out less severe global warming scenarios, Washington Post

Hydrogen Becomes More Viable as a Microgrid Fuel, Microgrid Knowledge

Wind

Bernhardt eager for offshore wind ‘that works,’ CommonWealth Magazine

State lawmakers call for action on wind farm, Cape Cod Times

New York Issues Second Offshore Wind Solicitation, Overcoming Coronavirus Delays, Greentech Media

Development of East Providence marine terminal gains $15M in Rebuild Rhode Island incentives, Providence Business News

New Jersey drafts offshore wind solicitation for up to 2.4 GW, Utility Dive

Senate Republicans urge McConnell to include clean energy in COVID-19 recovery package, Utility Dive

Lake turbines part of new state power play, Observer Today (NY)

Solar

‘They need to be ready.’ Study warns of growing solar waste, E&E News

Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company Reports on Progress for Solar Project on Landfill in Brattleboro Vermont, Globe Newswire

EVs

Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities investigates advanced metering and time varying rates for customers with electric vehicles, Energy and Cleantech Counsel

Auto Makers Charge Ahead With Electric-Vehicle Plans, Wall St. Journal

New York investor-owned utilities to fund $701M make-ready EV infrastructure program, Utility Dive

In electric car market, it’s Tesla and a jumbled field of also-rans, Boston Business Journal (subscriber content)

Nuclear

Nuclear power has been top-down and hierarchical. These women want to change that., Vox

Bribery Scandals Taint Efforts to Save U.S. Nuclear Plants, Bloomberg Quint

Gas

Ashland Select Board requests AG’s aid in Eversource pipeline fight, MetroWest Daily News

Healey reluctantly rejects Brookline bylaw, CommonWealth Magazine

Market/Grid/Policy/Prices

Bill to replace CMP with public entity faces key vote Friday, Press Herald

New findings show Maine Power could produce $9 billion in benefits for Maine people, Maine House Democrats

Grid operators agree on short-term gas benefits, but say it shouldn’t limit renewables growth, Utility Dive

Events

Hydrogen and the Green Economy, NECA Webinar, July 29, 2020

EBC Second Annual New England Climate Change, Resilence & Adaptation Summit: Part One – State Leadership, July 31, 2020

Webinar: Retail Energy Choice in 2020: An in-depth discussion on what the most recent data really means for consumers, CT Power and Energy Society, August 25, 2020

Co-Keynotes—Forging Decarbonization Plans & Essential Policies, Implementing Decarbonization Strategies—It Takes The Whole Village, Online, Restructuring Roundtable, September 25, 2020

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Filed under Climate Change, Electric Grid, New England Energy News, Northeast Energy News, offshore wind

Tagged as Central Maine Power, climate change, electric vehicles, EVs, natural gas

July 10, 2020 · 3:57 pm

Energy News for the week ending July 10, 2020

Put ‘em up | Dirty Word | Lithium

Happy summer Friday afternoon.

Just a quick recap for today. Basically the big news was all about the cancellation of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and what that means for other pipeline projects both now and in the future. Both the New York Times and Greentech Media questioned whether this is the end of new pipelines. The New York Times went further to suggest the next energy battle is between renewables and natural gas.

Bruce Mohl at Commonwealth Magazine tells us that in Maine “Mass.” becomes a dirty word in the referendum fight over the New England Clean Energy Connect project. He notes, “The referendum battle is in some ways the dark underbelly of a push for clean energy in Massachusetts.”

While this next story isn’t about a new technology it is about a new find. From NECN, “Is a Proposed Lithium Mine in Nevada the Future of Renewable Energy? Northern Nevada could soon explode into America’s ‘Lithium Valley,’ playing an even more critical role in our country’s future than Silicon Valley did with technology. Tesla built the highest-volume battery plant in the world outside Reno, but it has to import the lithium it uses from as far away as Western Australia or South America. That could soon change with a discovery that’s just a couple hours north of Tesla’s Gigafactory. A Canadian mining company identified what is one of the world’s largest lithium deposits inside the footprint of an ancient volcano.”

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

Gas

The World Can’t Take Much More Shale Gas, Wall St. Journal

Dominion Sells Gas Business and Cancels Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Greentech Media

Anti-Pipeline Playbook Snags Biggest Victories Yet. What’s Next?, Bloomberg Law

Natural gas pipeline developers aim to differentiate from Atlantic Coast and avoid its fate, Utility Dive

Is This the End of New Pipelines,? New York Times

Beginning of the End for New Oil and Gas Pipelines?, (audio) Greentech Media

Climate Change/Renewables/RGGI

The Next Energy Battle: Renewables vs. Natural Gas, New York Times

As Fossil Fuel Pipelines Fall to Opposition, Utilities See Renewable Energy as Safe Bet, Greentech Media

Wall Street giants plan more active role in climate fight, Axios

While climate change divides Democrats and Republicans, renewable policy unites, PV Magazine

NYSERDA announces first-of-its-kind partnership with ASHRAE to build back better and mitigate spread of COVID while combating climate change, Niagara Frontier Publications

Virginia joins Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, CBS19 News

Pennsylvania House OKs bill curbing state’s ability to join RGGI in ongoing dispute with governor, Utility Dive

Humid Heat Extremes on the Rise, Climate Central

Is a Proposed Lithium Mine in Nevada the Future of Renewable Energy,? NECN

Wind

Interior Department to streamline offshore wind permitting, nix unsolicited leasing, Utility Dive

Coast Guard challenged on offshore wind traffic study, Work Boat

Solar

Tough Questions for Massachusetts in Weighing Solar Development Against Land Conservation, GTM2 (subscriber content)

Sunrun to Acquire Vivint Solar, Creating Home Solar Giant, Greentech Media

Energy Efficiency/Storage

Investors Still Betting on Next Big Energy Storage Technology: Solid-State Batteries, Greentech Media

Federal Energy Efficiency: Promoting Equity and the Planet, NRDC

Eversource Energy: Restarts In-Person Energy Efficiency Services with Enhanced Safety Guidelines, Market Screener

Nuclear

Pilgrim Watch Releases Handbook on Nuclear Decommissioning, Wicked Local Kingston

General Atomics to deliver radiation monitoring systems to Millstone 3, Nuclear Engineering Intl.

Market/Grid/Policy/Prices

Mass. becomes dirty word in Maine referendum fight, CommonWealth Magazine

Commitment from Hydro-Quebec will bring electricity to Maine at discounted rate, WABI

How Utility Companies Use Charitable Giving To Influence Policy, HuffPost

Big spending, legal appeals in $1B transmission project, AP

U.S. power use to drop by record amount in 2020 due coronavirus: EIA, Reuters

Opinion

Explainer: Why the CMP Corridor is a Bad Deal for Maine and the Climate, National Resources Council of Maine

How energy efficiency could be a powerful force for economic recovery, NHBR

Crashing coastal property values and the economic fallout of climate change, Boston Globe

Why Advocates of 100% Clean Energy Must Overcome the ‘Resource Adequacy’ Challenge, Greentech Media

States are falling short on building decarbonization — Here’s what regulators need to do, Utility Dive

Our View: Fixing a broken system, Andover Townsman

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Filed under Climate Change, Energy Efficiency, Natural Gas Pipelines, New England Energy News, Northeast Energy News

Tagged as climate change, natural gas, New England Clean Energy Connect, renewable

June 26, 2020 · 1:31 pm

Energy News for week ending June 26, 2020

Carbon Tax | Solar Limbo | StEnSea

Happy Friday afternoon.

We start we a story from the Concord Monitor, “New England Power Generators pushing for a carbon tax. A utility group representing most of the power plants in New England is supporting the idea of a tax on the carbon content of emissions, an idea supported by many economists as the simplest and most market-based way to reduce greenhouse gas production. The report by Cavicchi and Paul Hibbard of the Analysis Group for New England Power Generators Association says a price of between $25 and $70 per ton of CO2 in emissions would drive changes in electricity production, transportation and heating that could meet the region’s emissions targets. A carbon tax would raise the price of gasoline and heating oil, spurring a switch to electric vehicles and electric heat pumps. As the power grid comes cleaner with more renewable energy, that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This strategy, often placed under the slogan ‘electrify everything,’ is a major plank in many proposals to fight the climate emergency. The report argues that total spending would also decline by switching to electrified transportation and heating, saving customers money.”

Next up is a story from PineTreeWatch.org, “6,000 Maine solar projects remain in limbo due to uncertainty over federal decision on net metering petition. The fate of net metering in New England — and across the United States — remains unknown, but resistance to its erasure is mounting. More than 450 organizations, 57,000 individuals and 37 states submitted comments opposing a petition that could set a national precedent and end a billing practice that credits users for investing in solar. Twenty-two organizations and individuals filed support for the proposal. The public comment window ended on June 15. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has not yet set a date to rule on the petition, which was filed by the New England Ratepayers Association in April…Maine Gov. Janet Mills was among those who spoke out against the petition, asking commissioners to ‘outright dismiss this petition.’ More than 6,000 ongoing projects in Maine rely on the benefits of net metering and the petition ‘would put at risk Maine’s existing renewable energy programs and the economic benefits enjoyed by thousands of citizens,’ Mills wrote in a letter to FERC. The Maine Public Utilities Commission and Maine Office of the Public Advocate also issued statements opposing the petition. ‘We’re not going away,’ said Barry Hobbins, Maine’s Public Advocate, whose job is to look out for the interests of public utility customers in Maine. ‘This could really undercut the solar industry.’”

For our new technology feature we look to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, “Energy storage at sea could enable full transition to renewable power. A new form of pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH) has been developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology in Germany. The project, entitled Storing Energy at Sea (StEnSea), uses concrete spheres anchored on the seafloor. To store energy, water is pumped out of the spheres, against the pressure of the surrounding seawater. When the energy is required, water is allowed to flow back into the spheres, driving turbines. No upper reservoir or transmission pipe is required since the surrounding seawater provides the necessary water pressure. When compared to conventional PSH, the need for land is eliminated and structures are minimised. It eliminates the danger of dam collapse and improves storage efficiency since evaporation from the upper reservoir does not reduce the energy stored. It is proposed that spheres with a diameter of 30m would be located at a depth of 700m, giving a nominal storage capacity of 27MWh. When the actual internal volume and operating efficiency of the system are taken into account, this configuration is expected to yield 18.3MWh storage capacity with a peak power output of 5MW.”

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

Energy Efficiency/Storage

ACEEE highlights 10 building energy performance standards to help meet climate goals, Utility Dive

New York Power Authority, Signify upgrade 500K streetlights statewide, Utility Dive

FEATURE: Energy storage at sea could enable full transition to renewable power, Institution of Mechanical Engineers

Bring-Your-Own-Batteries and EV Chargers: The Future of Distributed Energy Integration?, Greentech Media

Climate Change/Renewables/RGGI

New England Power Generators pushing for a carbon tax, Concord Monitor

Corporate carbon reduction targets get boost with new EEI, WRI utility emission rate tool, Utility Dive

Much of New York City’s generation needs to be displaced to reach state renewables target, agencies say, Utility Dive

US public opinion supports action on climate change — and has for years, Vox.com

Emissions reduction bill clears Senate committee, VT Digger