Future of Natural Gas | TCI Club Shrinking | North Country Hydrogen
Happy Friday afternoon folks. It’s nice to be back in your inboxes. Let’s get right to the first 2020 edition of the Northeast Energy News.
First up is a McKinsey report, The Future of Natural Gas in North America. “Industry discussions about the future of gas in North America are polarizing. On one hand, the shale revolution keeps delivering, displacing
liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports since the late 2000s, as abundant gas resources and technological innovation drove costs down. In the past few years, shale has entered a new phase with the rise of LNG exports from North America. By 2023, North America is expected to head the list of the world’s top LNG exporting regions. On the other hand, as state-level decarbonization policies ramp up, the demand for natural gas in key segments such as power generation and local distribution companies (LDC) is expected to decline.” To the right is a map from the report that shows the decarbonization efforts across the US.
Before the holiday break the Transportation Climate Initiative was all the rage. But it seems there has been some cooling off since news of the costs have been shared. From CommonWealth Magazine, “In a protest-interrupted State of the State address Thursday, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott cast a shadow on the prospects of him signing his state up for a multi-state compact to reduce vehicle emissions. Scott, who along with Gov. Charlie Baker is one of two Republican governors in New England, did not address the Transportation Climate Initiative by name, but discussed at length ways Vermont has been working to incentivize the purchase of electric vehicles. ‘It’s incentives, not penalties, which will help us transition more quickly,’ Scott said in his speech. Vermont was one of the 12 original states to begin negotiations on a regional cap-and-trade program that would seek to reduce carbon pollution from cars and trucks and use revenue from the sale of carbon allowances to fuel suppliers to invest in clean transportation options. New Hampshire has since withdrawn from those talks after the coalitions estimated that the proposals under consideration could add between 5 cents and 17 cents to the price of a gallon of gas…Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, also said this week that he has concerns with TCI. ‘Raising the gas tax, which frankly is what many Republican states have done to pay for transportation, is 100 percent paid for by Connecticut residents and probably not the way to go,’ Lamont said in a WNPR radio interview on Tuesday when asked about the initiative.”
For our new technology story this week we head to New Hampshire. From the Concord Monitor, “The company installing a factory in a former North Country paper mill hopes to create hydrogen, which some see as the ultimate clean fuel, through a process of compression that appears unlike any existing technology in that field. And while the company’s immediate plan is to burn the hydrogen to create electricity, the long-range plan is much bigger. ‘The real intent of coming out with a power plant is because it will unveil our capabilities in a big way,’ said Whitaker Irvin Jr., president and CEO of QuasarWave, the Utah firm behind the project in the closed 
Wausau Paper mill in the Groveton section of Northumberland. ‘When you’re talking about running a power plant on hydrogen … in a way to make it cost-effective … that’s not nebulous…’ The plan for QuasarWave is to take water from the Upper Ammonoosuc River, separate out the hydrogen and burn it in a reciprocating engine to produce electricity that will be sold to companies on site. Irvin says this electricity will be cheaper than can be bought on the grid…Details about the technology that will separate out the hydrogen, which is the whole point of the operation, are proprietary.”
That’s the recap for this week. There are a lot of news stories below. Enjoy and have a great weekend!
Natural Gas/Oil/Pipeline/Drilling
Cities, towns weigh banning gas hookups, Salem
Shutdown of US coal power facilities saved over 26,000 lives, study finds, The Guardian
Utilities Have Big Plans to Cut Emissions, But They’re Struggling to Shed Fossil Fuels, Inside Climate News
Compressor station opponents buoyed by Virginia ruling, Patriot Ledger
Why The Weymouth Compressor Was Such An Environmental Flash Point in 2019, WBUR
The future of natural gas in North America, McKinsey & Company
Divergent paths: Oil, natural gas going different directions, Reuters
Chinese company gets green light to explore offshore of Newfoundland and Labrador, Chronicle Herald
Local activists participate in coal blockade aimed at shutting down NH facility, Valley Advocate
4 Activists Arrested Trying To Block Coal-Carrying Train In Mass., WBUR
Thousands of gas leaks plagued Massachusetts in 2018, new DPU report says, Boston Herald
New Killingly power plant faces local opposition ahead of appeal, The Bulletin
Renewables/Climate Change/RGGI
US Greenhouse Gas Emissions Decreased in 2019, Per Rhodium Group, Greentech Media
Lawmakers want vote on climate pact, Salem News
Marine Labs on the Water’s Edge Are Threatened by Climate Change, New York Times
How a mid-20th-century hunting guide may fill the gaps on climate change in Maine, Washington Post
Connecticut governor knocks TCI gas fee compact in setback for Gov. Baker, Boston Herald
Vermont governor knocks TCI climate compact gas fee, Boston Herald
TCI club appears to be shrinking, CommonWealth Magazine
NY Plots a Course for Clean Energy, Jobs, Public News Service.org
Renewable advocates highlight ‘most effective’ path to net-zero emissions as House releases clean energy proposal, Utility Dive
‘Climate emergency’ is OED word of the year, Harvard Medical School
Avangrid betting big on renewable energy, Sun Journal
The Huge Australian Fires Could Change the Entire Earth’s Climate, Futurism
Declining Renewable Costs Drive Focus on Energy Storage, National Renewable Energy Lab
MA Clean Energy Industry Adds Over 1,000 Workers in 2019, GoLocalProv
Vermont legislator proposes ‘Green New Deal’ for state, WHDH
Workers say Amazon is threatening to fire them for pushing company to act on climate change, Hartford Courant
Day of reckoning looms for state’s clean-energy agency amid funding shortfall, Boston Globe
North Country plant says it can create hydrogen with a new technology, Concord Monitor
Wind
New York Confirms Plan for 1GW-Plus Offshore Wind Solicitation in 2020, Greentech Media
Fishermen call for 4-nautical-mile lanes between offshore wind turbines, South Coast Today
Are wind turbines safe? N.Y. accident stirs debate, National Wind Watch
Ex-state rep.: Wind turbines would hurt Hampton Beach views, tourism, Seacoastonline.com
Fishermen, wind farm developers at odds, CommonWealth Magazine
Cuomo: Create LI institute to train wind farm workers, Newsday
World’s Largest Floating Wind Turbine Begins Generating Power, Greentech Media
Dominion’s planned US offshore wind project could be world’s largest at 2.64 GW, Renewable Energy World
Solar
Growing off the grid: Marijuana businesses like Solar Therapeutics find ways to be eco-friendly, MassLive
Local Solar Installers Embrace Big New Opportunity: Home Battery Add-Ons, Greentech Media
A $1 Billion Solar Plant Was Obsolete Before It Ever Went Online, Bloomberg
Sununu’s Net Metering Plan Tees Up Another Renewable Energy Clash in Concord, NHPR
Energy Efficiency/Storage
Green Mountain Power partners with customers to exceed carbon reduction goals by 40% in 2019, Delivering Affordable Ways to Cut Carbon and Costs, Vermont Digger
ConEd will redesign NYC commercial building efficiency pilot after participation hurdles, Utility Dive
Smart meters gain popularity, but most utilities don’t optimize their potential to save energy, ACEEE
Study group proposes modest energy storage goals for Maine’s excess power, Portland Press Herald
N.A.A.C.P. Tells Local Chapters: Don’t Let Energy Industry Manipulate You, New York Times
Making computers and smartphones more energy efficient with novel tiny structures, Phys.org
EVs
Ashburnham installs electric vehicle charging station, Sentinel & Enterprise
Fisker debuts $37,500 electric SUV with a solar roof, The Verge
Nuclear
Water pump malfunction shuts down generating unit at Millstone, The Day
The oldest nuclear reactor? Nature’s 2 billion year old experiment, Hackaday.com
Market/Grid/Policy/Prices
How to squirrel-proof the power grid, Vox.com
Proposed CMP transmission line in western Maine clears major regulatory hurdle, Press Herald
The Northeast’s Energy Problem Is an Opportunity for These 3 Utilities, Nasdaq
How National Grid is Trying to Reinvent Itself, Motley Fool
PURA directs firms to raise awareness of electric bill aid, Journal Inquirer
Following 12-month inquiry, decision time approaches in CMP billing probe, Portland Press Herald
ISO-NE releases RFP for Boston area transmission upgrades, Electric Energy Online
Editorial/Opinion
Parity for renewables is key to energy tax policy, CommonWealth Magazine
What to Do When Green Objectives Conflict?, Wall St. Journal
Maine Voices: Public power proposal offers opportunity to match, top MEMIC’s success, Portland Press Herald
Letter: Offshore wind could provide all New England’s electricity, Seacoastonline.com
My Turn: ‘Forced march’ to heat pumps is bad policy, Concord Monitor
Op-Ed: Youth activism, a remedy for climate despair, Wicked Local Concord
Should cities and towns be required to place solar panels on the roofs of new municipal buildings?, Boston Globe
Letter: National Grid, stop pushing the pipeline, Times Union
LETTER: NRC needs to address concerns about plant, Daily News of Newburyport
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