Some state legislators are gunning for rooftop solar. Last year, New Hampshire legislators passed a bill that directed the Public Utilities Commission to open a proceeding to collect and analyze data to decide two things: First, whether the state needs a cap on the number of solar and other distributed clean energy installations permitted in…
Feb 6
2017
2017
Jan 24
2017
2017
Don’t Let HB317 Kill Energy Efficiency in NH – Tell Your Reps and Senators NO
New Hampshire legislators are trying to kill energy efficiency measures that save Granite State families and businesses money on our electric bills. We need you to tell your legislators to VOTE NO to energy-efficiency killing House Bill 317. Proponents of HB317 are calling the funding of energy efficiency an illegal tax, but that’s just an…
Jan 19
2017
2017
Making Renewable Energy “Dispatchable”
One of the biggest criticisms of renewable energy is that it is not “dispatchable.” “Dispatchable” electricity generators are the most useful ones to operators of the electricity grid, because grid operators can turn them on and off as needed, and more accurately control their output of electricity to keep the overall grid safe and reliable.…
Dec 28
2016
2016
Community Voices: The Clean Energy Landscape
On one of those perfect, blue-sky-and-sunshine summer days that New Englanders dream of all winter long, Peter Baute emerges from a shaded trail into a small clearing overlooking Block Island Sound. At least half a dozen people mill about the clearing, cameras in hand, jockeying for the best angle of the scene before them. They’re…
Dec 28
2016
2016
President Obama Bans Atlantic and Arctic Drilling
In another major victory for the environment and ocean conservation before President-elect Trump takes office, President Obama has banned offshore oil and gas drilling in large expanses of the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. To do so, the President used the authority granted to him by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953, which states:…
Dec 13
2016
2016
Federal Appeals Court Gives Go Ahead to Connecticut’s Renewable Energy Programs
In a case challenging Connecticut’s authority to implement two key renewable energy programs, a federal appeals court issued a ruling yesterday, allowing the programs to proceed. The Court’s ruling, coming just a day after it heard oral arguments in the case, reinforces the viability and legitimacy of Connecticut’s renewable energy programs and similar programs being…
Dec 8
2016
2016
Going Low-Carb
Transforming New England’s Energy System New England’s coal-fired power plants were at their peak when CLF opened its doors 50 years ago. The majority of the region’s coal fleet came online in the post-war boom years of the1950s and 1960s and they would go on to dominate our region’s electricity mix for decades. Today, however,…
Dec 8
2016
2016
New Hampshire Governor-elect Sununu’s Opportunity: Champion Clean Energy, Not Fossil Fuels
This year, the need to aggressively tackle the problem of climate change couldn’t have been clearer. From 2016 likely surpassing 2015 as the hottest year on record globally, to historic drought conditions here in New Hampshire, the stakes couldn’t be higher for the health of our environment, our communities, and our economy. At a time…
Dec 7
2016
2016
A Message to Governor-Elect Scott: Clean Water and a Resilient Climate for All Vermonters
While much attention has been focused on the impending leadership change in Washington, two New England states – Vermont and New Hampshire – will inaugurate new governors in January. Here in Vermont, we are looking forward to working with Governor-elect Scott, as we have with Vermont’s governors – both Republican and Democrat – throughout our 50-year history.…
Dec 2
2016
2016
Maine Rejects Big Gas’s Gamble – For Now
Last week, the Maine Public Utilities Commission closed the latest chapter (for now) in the ongoing saga that is the demise of Spectra’s Access Northeast Project when it decided to indefinitely postpone its proceedings on the ill-conceived natural gas pipeline proposal. Previously, the Commission decided to move forward with a contract for natural gas capacity…