As families across New England were preparing for this last holiday season, NRG Energy, a Texas dirty-energy giant (over 80% of its massive power holdings burn fossil fuels!), quietly filed its request with the Massachusetts Energy Facility Siting Board (EFSB) for approval to construct its newest fossil-fuel power plant: a new, 350 megawatt gas- and…
Feb 10
2016
2016
Feb 9
2016
2016
Why Have Presidential Candidates Been Silent on Northern Pass?
The next president of the United States will decide only one issue that uniquely affects New Hampshire residents. Yet as candidates of both parties blanketed the state in the final weeks before today’s primary, that issue received scant attention. The next president will decide whether to authorize the cross-border connection to Canada’s Hydro-Québec needed for…
Nov 24
2015
2015
The Climate Change Connection: The Warming Gulf of Maine Needs Protected Areas
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” –President Theodore Roosevelt Considering how quickly our planet is warming, and what little is being done to combat it by our national government, this quote has never been more relevant or applicable. Here in New England, our ocean is especially vulnerable to the impacts…
Nov 6
2015
2015
Governor Baker: The People Have Spoken, and They Want a Marine National Monument
The people of New England, and especially Massachusetts, have spoken – and they want a Marine National Monument in the Atlantic. More than 160,000 people have signed their name in support of a monument designation, including over 10,000 from Massachusetts alone. We’ve received public letters of support from coastal businesses, faith-based organizations, and aquaria. And…
Sep 17
2015
2015
Solving New England’s Natural Gas Problem (Hint: It’s Not through Big New Pipelines)
For a few hours a day, on 50 days of the year, New England has a gas problem – not enough natural gas is available to meet demand for both heat and electricity. Two years ago, this problem led to dramatic spikes in the price of natural gas and the cost of electricity. Since then,…
Sep 3
2015
2015
Guest Blog: Fuel Tracking Makes Sense for Massachusetts
Conservation Law Foundation has been working closely with the Union of Concerned Scientists and other partners to advance legislation that would implement transportation fuel tracking in Massachusetts. What is fuel tracking and why is it important? David Babson, senior engineer for Union of Concerned Scientists’ Clean Vehicles Program explains: I have been traveling to Massachusetts…
Aug 25
2015
2015
Governor Baker’s Solar Bill Misses the Mark
Anticipating the release of his promised solar power legislation, we encouraged Governor Baker to be bold in strengthening and continuing the solar-friendly policies, including net metering, that have made Massachusetts a national leader in solar energy. Unfortunately, his proposed bill falls well short of that goal. At a time when our changing climate demands urgent action…
Aug 7
2015
2015
Sunny Days Ahead: Securing Massachusetts’ Role as a Renewable Energy Leader
Governor Baker’s administration announced late last week that it would file, this week or next, legislation designed to continue the growth of solar power in Massachusetts and achieve the state’s goal of 1,600 megawatts of installed solar capacity by 2020. No details have been released yet on the draft bill, but those are goals that CLF enthusiastically supports.
Jul 17
2015
2015
Experts Weigh In: Maine Doesn’t Need New Gas Pipelines
This week consultants hired by the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) concluded that Maine should not enter into contracts to purchase gas pipeline capacity because the costs of doing so would outweigh the benefits to Mainers. In many ways, this was a foregone conclusion – one that CLF predicted nearly a year ago and that the PUC itself (unofficially) reached before soliciting proposals from pipeline companies and spending taxpayer dollars on a lengthy consultant’s report. It’s a cautionary tale not just for Maine but for all of New England as the region weighs its energy future – and decides whether it will overinvest in natural gas or blaze a trail based on cleaner, renewable resources.
May 15
2015
2015
The Alternatives to New Natural Gas Pipelines
Now that we’ve made it through the winter, policymakers in Massachusetts are taking a look at the state of energy in the Commonwealth and trying to sort out what to do about the big energy policy questions currently on the table. First among these questions is what, if any, public policy support and funding should…