With the Rhode Island General Assembly on hiatus until January, we’re reviewing progress made on key bills this past year – and highlight bills that we will be pushing forward when the Assembly reconvenes in the new year. In this blog, we’ll talk about bills related to energy. You can find our round-up of food-…
Oct 12
2017
2017
Blocking Big Gas
New Englanders need low- and no-carbon energy sources, not another dirty fossil fuel.
Oct 4
2017
2017
UPDATE: Fighting the Vermont Gas Pipeline – at the State Supreme Court
UPDATE: CLF argued our case this morning, taking Vermont gas to task for trying to charge hardworking vermonters for a polluting pipeline. The Vermont Supreme Court was engaged in our argument – we’re asking that the Vermont Public Utilities Commission follow its own rules and re-examine this project based on ballooning costs. We’ll let you…
Aug 17
2017
2017
An Open Letter to Providence Mayor Elorza Regarding Invenergy
Dear Mayor Elorza: On August 11, 2017, Michael Sabatoni, President of the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council, emailed you a letter pertaining to the pending Superior Court litigation regarding the water contract between the Town of Johnston and Invenergy. That pending lawsuit was brought by Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) and the Town of…
Aug 9
2017
2017
What Rick Perry’s Grid Reliability Study Means for New England
In April, Department of Energy Secretary Rick Perry ordered a study on the reliability of our electric grid. This should be good news. The infrastructure of transmission lines, substations, and local delivery wires that make up the electricity grid is old and needs to be updated. But it was clear from the language of the…
Jul 28
2017
2017
Fighting Big Gas
Jason and Erin Olkowski never saw themselves as activists and community organizers. But that all changed when Invenergy came to their small Rhode Island town, with its plans to build a massive new natural gas plant next door to family homes and within a pristine conservation area.
Jul 26
2017
2017
Conservation Matters Summer 2017: Year in Review
Fighting Big Gas How One Community’s Fight Could Shape the Future of New England Restoring Lake Champlain Reasons for Hope after Decades of Degradation Local Food 2.0 Training a New Generation of Farmers in Western Massachusetts Whale Watch Saving North Atlantic Right Whales from Extinction Measuring Community Health A New Research Model Puts the Community…
Jul 12
2017
2017
Invenergy Natural Gas Power Plant Postponement Is Good News
Since an article appeared in the Providence Journal on July 11 saying that the proposed start-up date of the Invenergy plant has been postponed, I have heard from many CLF supporters asking questions about the delay and what it means. Here are answers to the most frequently asked questions. What exactly was reported in the…
Jul 10
2017
2017
Another Win for New England: Moving Beyond the Access Northeast Pipeline
At the end of June, Eversource and National Grid — two of New England’s biggest utilities — along with pipeline operator Enbridge, withdrew plans for a $3.2 billion natural gas pipeline known as Access Northeast. The companies have been pushing for this dirty fossil fuel pipeline for years, and wanted New England families and businesses…
Jun 23
2017
2017
Q&A on CLF’s Superior Court Win in the Invenergy Case
Since the Rhode Island Superior Court denied Invenergy’s motion to dismiss CLF’s lawsuit against the company, I have received lots of questions from CLF supporters asking questions about the ruling and what it means. Here are answers to the most frequently asked questions. Does the Judge’s ruling on June 20 mean that CLF won the…