Conservation Law Foundation and the Boston Green Ribbon Commission have just published a Primer designed to demystify wholesale electricity markets. You can access the full text of the newly published document, Electricity Markets Primer. In New England, the United States, and the world, the making of electricity is one of the largest sources of carbon…
Sep 16
2015
2015
Apr 5
2014
2014
Hitting Its Stride
When news broke in 2013 that Brayton Point, New England’s largest – and reportedly most efficient – coal-fired power plant would close in 2017, CLF heralded the news as a victory in one of its signature battles: the demise of coal in New England.
Jan 27
2014
2014
CLF Statement on Brayton Point Power Plant’s Notice of Intention to Shut Down by 2017
CLF Calls Plan Good News for Mass. and New England Communities and Environment, Underscores Need for Planning to Ensure Stable and Just Transition In response to the notice from the owners of the Brayton Point power plant to ISO New England announcing the company’s intentions of retiring all units of the Brayton Point coal- and…
Dec 13
2013
2013
A Quest for Clean Air
I’d like to introduce you to two CLF members who are making a difference for people and communities in New England. Tiffany Mellers is a working mom and Army reservist who lives in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in the shadow of Bridgeport Harbor Station, a coal- and oil-burning power plant that has been polluting that city for…
Dec 5
2013
2013
CLF’s Case Against PSNH’s Coal Plant for Clean Air Act Violations Moves Forward
Yesterday, CLF won a resounding early victory in our 2011 federal lawsuit against Merrimack Station, Public Service of New Hampshire’s (PSNH) coal-fired power plant in Bow, for blatant violations of the federal Clean Air Act. The impetus for our suit dates back to 2008 and 2009, when PSNH made major upgrades to Merrimack Station that allowed…
Jul 22
2013
2013
The $700 Million Canard: PSNH Again Claims Savings, While Its Customers Have Lost
Like PSNH’s zombie talking points about the Northern Pass project, the company has once again repeated a baseless and misleading claim—this time in a vain hope of sustaining its failing coal-fired business model. Once again, the cold, hard facts belie PSNH’s claim of a $700 million savings to its customers over the last decade.…
Jun 10
2013
2013
“No supportable basis for optimism” and “ever higher costs”: PUC Staff calls out PSNH’s failed business model
This past Friday, staff from the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission and The Liberty Consulting Group issued the results of their investigation (PDF) into the impacts of PSNH’s failing business model and “ever higher costs” to consumers. The Union Leader and NHPR were quick to quote the report’s damning conclusion: In summary, the situation looks…
May 1
2013
2013
Coal-Fired PSNH Continues to Lose Customers, Anger Those Who Remain
It’s another spring in New Hampshire, and the slow death of Public Service Company of New Hampshire’s (PSNH) coal-fired business model continues, as do PSNH’s efforts to hold back reality and hold on to its regulatory protection from competition. More and more PSNH customers are choosing cleaner, cheaper energy options, the company is again…
Feb 28
2013
2013
Dark Days Ahead: Financial Factors Cloud Future Profitability at Dominion’s Brayton Point
The report projected a bleak future for the 50-year-old coal-fired facility, finding that the once profitable power plant’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were plummeting due to a perfect storm of market conditions that are projected to continue at least through the end of the decade.
Feb 28
2013
2013
Dark Days Ahead: The Financial Future of Brayton Point
Just how much financial trouble is Dominion facing at its 50-year old coal and oil-fired power plant? The prospects are bleak and looking worse. For years, people have assumed that the largest coal-fired power plant in New England could weather any storm, but the numbers show that Brayton Point is facing dark days, and the…