Providing accurate and timely information about what matters in Franklin, MA since 2007. * Working in collaboration with Franklin TV and Radio (wfpr.fm) since October 2019 *
'The effects will be different in every place, but almost everywhere safe shelter will get scarcer and more expensive, loosening people’s grip on the stability that comes with a permanent home.’ Photograph: Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images
"THE COMPANY seeking to build a Massachusetts-financed transmission line carrying hydro-electricity from Quebec to Maine cleared another hurdle on its comeback trail when federal regulators dismissed objections raised by the nuclear power plant Seabrook Station.
In a 52-page ruling, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruled on Wednesday that Seabrook must upgrade a circuit breaker at the nuclear power plant to accommodate hydro-electricity expected to come into the region from Canada.
FERC also ruled that Seabook’s owner, NextEra, can only charge Avangrid, the company building the power line, for the cost of replacing the circuit breaker and not for “opportunity costs” of $560,000 a day or legal fees.
Avangrid and NextEra are big competitors in the New England energy market and have been battling each other for years on a variety of fronts."
FM #916 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 916 in the series.
This session of the radio show shares my conversation with Ted McIntyre, Franklin resident and climate activist via the Zoom conference bridge Tuesday, January 10, 2023.
In this episode we covered the following topics:
Happy new year, catch up on happenings since we last talked
Healey, inauguration, Climate lead executive order
Rep Roy video from Museum of Science (wind turbine blade testing), Rep Roy & Senator Barrett on Codcast (wind troubles)
Fusion/ fission/ nuclear generated electrical power
This discussion continues our journey understanding the MA roadmap toward net zero and while it helps me “make sense of climate”, we hope it helps with your understanding as well.
If you have climate questions or Franklin specific climate questions, send them in and we’ll try to answer them in a future session.
The conversation runs about 48 minutes. Let’s listen to my conversation with Ted.
If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com
The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.
I hope you enjoy!
------------------
You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"
Wind turbines atop Saddleback Mountain in Maine. ROBERT F. BUKATY/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rep Jeff Roy talked about his visit to the wind turbine blade testing facility in our recent episode of "Making Sense of Climate" series. The Museum of Science produced this video about the visit and work being on wind power technology.
"In the case of #climatechange, the evidence is compelling: climate change is increasingly affecting the Northeast. Climate change threatens the Earth, social connectedness, infrastructure, and our public health. To combat it, Massachusetts must continue to invest and enact evidence-based policies that protect Massachusetts and our region from climate change.
This past July, Massachusetts passed An Act driving clean energy and offshore wind, a landmark climate bill that expands clean energy and sets ambitious goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. With cooperation and innovation from the government, academic, industry and public sectors, the green economy in Massachusetts will positively impact citizens for generations to come.
The Museum of Science is grateful to the Mass Clean Energy Council and the Wind Turbine Testing Center in Charlestown for hosting us at their facility to learn more about this industry. And, thank you to Jennifer Dalosio CEO of the Mass Clean Energy Center, Senator Sal DiDomenico, Representative Jeff Roy, and Representative Dan Ryan for speaking to the legislation and what offshore wind means for their districts and for the future #STEM workforce in Massachusetts.
Among the world's largest science centers, the Museum of Science engages millions of people each year to the wonders of science and technology through interactive exhibitions, digital programs, giant screen productions, and preK – 8 EiE® STEM curricula through the William and Charlotte Bloomberg Science Education Center. Established in 1830, the Museum is home to such iconic experiences as the Theater of Electricity, the Charles Hayden Planetarium, and the Mugar Omni Theater. Around the world, the Museum is known for digital experiences such as Mission: Mars launching in 2022 on Roblox, and traveling exhibitions such as the Science Behind Pixar."
"The Legislature’s energy experts say it makes sense to penalize CommonWealth Wind and Mayflower Wind if they default on their recently approved power purchase contracts, but the lawmakers don’t want the penalties to include a ban on participation in an upcoming offshore wind procurement.
The House and Senate chairs of the Legislature’s Utilities, Telecommunications, and Energy Committee say the state needs to walk a fine line between penalizing the companies but not penalizing itself. "
Continue reading the article at CommonWealth Magazine
Sen. Michael Barrett of Lexington (left) and Rep. Jeffrey Roy of Franklin, the chairs of Legislature's Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy Committee.
A 1,000 MEGAWATT onshore wind project planned for northern Maine and an associated transmission build-out “would provide benefits to Massachusetts and the region,” the Mass. Department of Energy Resources said as it determined that it makes sense to have Bay State ratepayers cover 40 percent of the project costs as part of a multi-state clean energy effort.
The Maine Public Utilities Commission selected the two projects — Longroad Energy’s King Pine 1,000 MW land-based wind generation project and LS Power Base’s 345 kilovolt (kV) transmission line project — in October to fulfill that state’s clean energy law requirements. The anticipated net cost of the two projects is $1.7 billion over 30 years, but the Maine PUC directed its staff “to look to other states to assess if there are partnerships that could reduce the costs to Maine.”
"THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITIES on Friday approved 20-year power purchase agreements between the state’s three major utilities and the offshore wind developers behind Commonwealth Wind and Mayflower Wind, rejecting claims and concerns raised by the developers that the contracts are no longer adequate to finance their projects.
Avangrid, the developer behind Commonwealth Wind, had asked the DPU to dismiss its power purchase agreements because rising inflation and interest rates as well as supply chain disruptions and the war in Ukraine had driven up costs to a point where the existing pricing was no longer sufficient to finance and build the project."
On the day when the Commonwealth Wind project got pulled, the State was giving awards for wind power development
"AVANGRID PULLED ITS Commonwealth Wind project out of the latest Massachusetts offshore wind procurement on Friday, and now many are wondering what the lone remaining participant, Mayflower Wind, will do.
When Avangrid on October 20 asked the Department of Public Utilities for a one-month delay to negotiate adjustments to its power purchase agreement in the face of soaring inflation, rising interest rates, and supply chain challenges, Mayflower seconded that call.
After the DPU told the two wind farm developers to either stand by their original contracts or back out of the procurement, Mayflower stood by its original contract while Avangrid eventually decided to drop out."
Continue reading the article online at CommonWealth Magazine ->
"CHRISTMAS CAME early for the fledgling offshore wind industry in Massachusetts, as the Baker administration handed out $180 million on Tuesday for infrastructure improvements and businesses in New Bedford, Somerset, and Salem.
The money flowed, even though the wind farms the state is counting on to spur the industry are having difficulty financing their projects. The awards were announced at the state wind turbine testing facility in Charlestown.
The largest amount of money, $75 million, went to Crowley Maritime, which has purchased 42 acres on the Salem waterfront and is preparing to redevelop the property to support offshore wind development.
Another $45 million went for improvements to the state-owned New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal, which has been open for years but will get its first offshore wind customer, Vineyard Wind, starting in January."
Continue reading the article online at CommonWealth Magazine ->
"AVANGRID PULLED OUT of a major Massachusetts offshore wind procurement at the final stage on Friday, saying its previously negotiated power purchase contract was no longer adequate to secure financing for the project given current economic conditions.
The company said it intends to resubmit the project with new pricing requirements when the state begins its next offshore wind procurement in April.
The decision is potentially a major blow to the state’s clean energy efforts and is likely to trigger a debate on Beacon Hill about whether inflation adjusters need to be incorporated going forward with future offshore wind procurements. New York and New Jersey are moving down that path now."
Continue reading the article online at CommonWealth Magazine ->
Connecticut-based Avangrid said it intends to enter the state’s next round of bidding for wind-farm contracts in the spring. RODRIQUE NGOWI/ASSOCIATED PRESS
"Closing a gap in our climate plans - Report says the state's heat pump incentives are inadequate"
"THE RECENT report from the Commission on Clean Heat is short on numbers and, like any “consensus report,” it leaves some important issues unresolved. But it does identify the challenges we face in decarbonizing buildings in Massachusetts and offer an inventory of options.
The state’s basic strategy for cutting carbon emissions is to electrify almost everything while making almost all of our electric power sources carbon-free. Electrifying buildings means converting their heating sources to electric heat pumps; conversion to heat pumps usually requires weatherization. As the commission notes, the scale of the transition is huge. According to the state’s climate plan (page 8), in 2050:
All or nearly all new buildings will have been built according to very high standards of energy efficiency and weatherization . . . and will utilize clean heating technologies.
The vast majority of the Commonwealth’s more than 2 million individual buildings that were already in existence in 2022, including [low and moderate income] housing units, will have undergone significant energy efficiency and weatherization retrofits and will use high-efficiency electric appliances for heating, cooling, cooking, and hot water."
Continue reading the article online at CommonWealth Magazine ->
"How do floating wind farms work? - They will be put to the test with new California leases"
"NORTHERN CALIFORNIA has some of the strongest offshore winds in the US, with immense potential to produce clean energy. But it also has a problem. Its continental shelf drops off quickly, making building traditional wind turbines directly on the seafloor costly if not impossible.
Once water gets more than about 200 feet deep – roughly the height of an 18-story building – these “monopile” structures are pretty much out of the question.
A solution has emerged that’s being tested in several locations around the world: wind turbines that float."
Continue reading the article online at CommonWealth Magazine ->
FM #887 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 887 in the series.
This session of the radio show shares my conversation with Ted McIntyre, Franklin resident and climate activist. For this session we were joined by State Representative Jeffrey Roy. We recorded this via the Zoom conference bridge Tuesday, November 15, 2022.
In this episode we covered the following topics:
Green banking, what is it?
Smart metering, better able to manage use by knowing what and when it is being used; rebate potential for off-peak use
Grimsby, England and video segment on 60 Minutes; Franklin Sheet Metal part of the developing ecosystem being built to support green energy
Building net zero stretch code opt in, pilot with 10 communities to gain lessons learned; Clean Heat Report due Nov 2022
How Will it be working on climate legislation with the new Governor
This discussion continues our journey understanding the MA roadmap toward net zero and while it helps me “make sense of climate”, we hope it helps with your understanding as well.
If you have climate questions or Franklin specific climate questions, send them in and we’ll try to answer them in a future session.
If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com
The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.
I hope you enjoy!
------------------
You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"
""GOV. CHARLIE BAKER’S top energy aide urged the offshore wind developer Avangrid to abandon efforts to reopen its electricity contract with the state and abide by the existing terms.
Avangrid has asked the Department of Public Utilities for a one-month delay in approving the contract, saying the time is needed to work out new terms because the 1,200-megawatt Commonwealth Wind project is not viable without an adjustment in the electricity price.
The company, which has said its project has been rocked by inflation, interest rate hikes, and supply chain difficulties, is expected to file a brief on the issue with the DPU on Monday."
Avangrid refuses to budge on need for pricing changes
"THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITIES was very clear a week ago, telling the state’s two leading offshore wind developers that they could either move forward with the pricing contracts they negotiated with the state’s utilities or withdraw from the proceedings and start over again.
Mayflower Wind quickly responded that it would honor the terms of its contract but also said it would seek to inform all parties of the cost challenges wind farm developers are facing because of the war in Ukraine, interest rate hikes, inflation, and supply chain disruptions.
Avangrid, the developer of the 1,200-megawatt Commonwealth Wind project, asked for more time to respond and then waited until the very last minute on Monday before filing a response that largely ignored the DPU’s order."
FM #870 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 870 in the series.
This session of the radio show shares my conversation with Ted McIntyre, Franklin resident and climate activist. We recorded this via the Zoom conference bridge Tuesday, October 25, 2022.
In this episode our conversation covered the following topics:
Microgrids
South Carolina residential building auto based
DPU and municipal aggregation approval cycle
Building code, stretch code revisions pending
Offshore cable system
Mother Jones says ‘microgrids’ are good
This discussion continues our journey understanding the MA roadmap toward net zero and while it helps me “make sense of climate”, we hope it helps with your understanding as well.
If you have climate questions or Franklin specific climate questions, send them in and we’ll try to answer them in a future session.
The conversation runs about 40 minutes. Let’s listen to my conversation with Ted
public ownership of utilities I don't think it the answer, we need to ensure appropriate board and oversight of the utilities doesn't create/continue the fossil fuel domination
If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com
The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.
I hope you enjoy!
------------------
You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"
