Elected Officials to Protect America advocate for offshore wind power (video)

Elected Officials to Protect America (@EOPAmerica) tweeted on Fri, Oct 14, 2022:

"We're doing our part here locally, and we're here really to call on the Federal Government to join us" regarding offshore wind.
- @CobiFrongillo, Councilmember Franklin, Massachusetts

Please watch the entire press conference on this YouTube link: https://t.co/VyMqDi0yj3

Shared from Twitter -> https://twitter.com/EOPAmerica/status/1581042188124704768

"We're doing our part here locally, and we're here really to call on the Federal Government to join us" regarding offshore wind.
- @CobiFrongillo, Councilmember Franklin, Massachusetts

Please watch the entire press conference on this YouTube link: https://t.co/VyMqDi0yj3 pic.twitter.com/dmCRCp3Qv2

— Elected Officials to Protect America (@EOPAmerica) October 14, 2022

Now that the Climate bill was signed, what's next? State Rep Jeff Roy joins Ted & I to answer that question and more (audio)

FM #859 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 859 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 Monday, October 3, 2022.  

We are joined by our special guest, MA State Representative Jeff Roy. The last time Jeff was with us (August) we were all waiting for the governor to take action on the recent climate legislation. It had worked its way through the MA House & Senate, the Conference Committee, back through both the MA House & Senate and sat on Governor Baker’s desk until he did sign it.

In this episode our conversation covered the following topics: 

• legislation passed, signed, now what's next

• electric rate, municipal aggregation, home electricity monitoring

• Site visits; White House, Schneider Electric, Andover; Millstone Nuclear Plant in CT

• MassSave options

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 53 minutes. Let’s listen to my conversation with Ted and State Rep Jeff Roy.

Audio file ->   https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-858-ma-state-representative-jeff-roy-10-04-22

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Mass Save to sign up for an energy audit -> https://www.masssave.com/ 

White House visit -  https://twitter.com/jeffroy/status/1570067557687738370 

Millstone Nuclear plant visit ->https://twitter.com/jeffroy/status/1576180037132292096   

See the page that collects the “Making Sense of Climate” episodes -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/02/making-sense-of-climate-collection.html 

--------------

We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.  

This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.

How can you help?

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors

• If you don't like something here, please let me know

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news/

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"

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-clean-energy-and-climate-plan-for-2025-and-2030

CommonWealth Magazine: The future of work; transmission site info sought

"EVERY LABOR DAY working people celebrate the countless contributions the labor movement has made to improve the lives of working people. We reflect on the past and present to organize a better future for all.

Right now, working people are frustrated. Many are struggling to afford the basics, much less save for college or retirement. Amidst this, corporate special interests are lining their pockets off the backs of working people. In 2021, the CEO pay at S&P 500 companies rose 18.2 percent, faster than the US inflation rate of 7.1 percent. In contrast, US workers’ wages fell behind inflation, with worker wages rising only 4.7 percent in 2021. This is not “inflation.” It is “greedflation” — when companies take advantage of consumers by using their market dominance to increase prices and boost corporate profits. We’ve seen this with Uber surge pricing during times when people are most desperate for a ride, little of which goes to the actual drivers."

Continue reading the article online

https://commonwealthmagazine.org/economy/the-future-of-work-is-not-for-sale/ 

"FIVE OF THE SIX New England states have launched an effort to better coordinate the process of bringing ashore electricity produced by offshore wind farms and feeding the power into the regional grid.

Currently, states contract with offshore wind developers and the developers select where they want to bring their power ashore and are responsible for all transmission system upgrades needed to make that happen.

The process has gone fairly smoothly so far, with developers picking interconnection points on Cape Cod, in Somerset, and in Rhode Island."

Continue reading the article online

https://commonwealthmagazine.org/energy/5-new-england-states-seek-info-on-transmission-issues/

"5 New England states seek info on transmission issues"

Why you need to call Governor Baker! Making Sense of Climate with State Rep Jeff Roy (audio)

FM #835 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 835 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 Thursday, August 4, 2022.  

We talked with our special guest, MA State Representative Jeff Roy. Jeff represents Franklin and Medway and chairs the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy which marshaled the recent climate legislation through the MA House & Senate, the Conference Committee, back through both the MA House & Senate and sits on Governor Baker’s desk.

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 50 minutes. Let’s listen to my conversation with Ted and State Rep Jeff Roy. Audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-835-making-sense-of-climate-14-08-04-22

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The climate legislation discussed as amended and returned to the Governor for action https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/07/massachusetts-legislature-passes-major.html

State Rep Jeff Roy’s remarks on the MA House of Representatives floor in favor of the legislation and quoting Governor Baker on compromise (from the Governor’s recent book).

https://youtu.be/PB-CRp7ooCg

Governor Baker’s book -> https://www.amazon.com/Results-Getting-Beyond-Politics-Important/dp/1647821800

See the page that collects the “Making Sense of Climate” episodes -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/02/making-sense-of-climate-collection.html 

--------------

We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.  

This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.

How can you help?

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors

• If you don't like something here, please let me know

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news/

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"

MA State Representative Jeff Roy

Representative Roy responds to Mass Fiscal transparency claim

State Representative Jeff Roy responded to the Mass Fiscal Alliance claims as published in the CommonWealth Magazine and Franklin Observer. 

We had shared the article on Wednesday (link ->   https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/07/beacon-hill-roundup-agreement-reach-on.html) including a disclaimer for readers to be aware of the dark money funding Mass Fiscal Alliance. A similar disclaimer had not accompanied the CommonWealth article nor the similar item also posted to the Franklin Observer.

Hence Representative Roy's response:

"You undermine your credibility when you run hit pieces like the one this morning featuring Mass Fiscal. As you are well aware, Mass Fiscal is nothing but a right wing extremist group that refuses to disclose its donors, lacking the very transparency it complains about.

If you had carefully reviewed the facts, you would have learned that the climate bill took one of the most transparent paths to passage over the past 14 months. I am happy to share the real story with you at any time. In summary, it began last April with a series of meetings with stakeholders, culminated in a 120 report in the fall of 2021 which was provided to you (and not shared with your readers I might add), and resulted in a bill that followed the recommendations in the report which was released by the TUE Committee in a public hearing in January 2022. From there, it went to Ways & Means where it underwent 8 more weeks of public vetting which resulted in more changes and improvements before the bill hit the House floor on March 3, 2022. The Senate took it up on the floor on April 15, 2022. Over the next several months, the bills were merged and finalized into one bill through the conference committee process. That process included participation from the Minority Leaders in both the House and Senate who both approved of the report by signing the jacket on Wednesday, July 20, 2022.

Here are some links to 45 press reports that demonstrate our transparency on the climate legislation:

1. Massachusetts lawmakers OK compromise climate change bill, WBUR (7/22/22)
2. Massachusetts passes 'landmark' climate bill to decarbonize multiple sectors, add 5.6 GW offshore wind, Utility Dive (7/22/22)
3. State Legislature advances new climate bill after months of negotiations, Boston Globe (7/21/22)
4. Here's what's in the Legislature's energy/climate change legislation, Commonwealth Magazine (7/21/22)
5. Massachusetts lawmakers OK compromise climate change bill, AP News (7/21/22)
6. Compromise climate bill coming down to the wire, Commonwealth Magazine (7/20/22)
7. Baker, negotiators eye path to energy bill compromise, WGBH News (5/5/22)
8. Massachusetts Senate to hear offshore wind energy bill, The Center Square (3/9/2022)
9. Offshore wind bill sails through House, Commonwealth Magazine (3/4/2022)
10. House approves plan to expand offshore wind, The Daily News (3/4/2022)
11. House pushes for Massachusetts to become the center of U.S. wind production, WGBH (3/3/2022)
12. Offshore wind is the future for Massachusetts, Boston Globe (3/2/2022)
13. In race for offshore wind jobs, Mass. is falling behind. So now what?, Boston Globe (3/2/2022)
14. New offshore wind bill drops electric bill charges, Commonwealth Magazine (3/1/2022)
15. House rallying behind new supports for offshore wind industry, New Bedford Light (3/1/2022)
16. Mass. Climate Legislation Overview & Update, sessions on March 2 and March 15, WaylandeNews (2/22/2022)
17. Training offshore wind techs through virtual reality, ABC6 News (2/11/22)
18. All around Massachusetts, cities and towns want to go fossil fuel free. Here's why they can't., Boston Globe (1/19/22)
19. Rep. Roy hopes for a vote 'sooner rather than later' on offshore wind policy bill, Wicked Local Franklin (1/18/22)
20. Sweeping offshore wind bill headed toward House, Commonwealth Magazine (1/13/22)
21. Beacon Hill eyes utility charge to fuel offshore wind, The Salem News (1/13/22)
22. Offshore wind policy fight takes center stage, Commonwealth Magazine (1/12/22)
23. Energy panel readying offshore wind proposal; price cap may fall in pursuit of broader benefits, The Standard Times (1/12/22)
24. Baker urges state to pass offshore wind investment to help meet climate goals, Boston Globe (1/11/22)
25. A first step on offshore wind, Commonwealth Magazine (11/19/21)
26. Could hydrogen be the newest green power source for Mass.?, Boston Globe (11/9/21)
27. Beacon Hill eyeing tradeoffs on offshore wind, Commonwealth Magazine (10/18/21)
28. Codcast: The great offshore wind debate, Commonwealth Magazine (10/18/21)
29. The great offshore wind debate, Commonwealth Magazine (10/18/21)
30. Baker shifts thinking on offshore wind, Commonwealth Magazine (10/14/21)
31. Baker scraps wind price cap in $750-million Clean Energy Bill, 22News WWLP (10/14/21)
32. State Rep. Roy charged with spinning the wheel on offshore wind policy. Franklin legislator plans to put a bill out this session, Franklin Country Gazette (9/28/21)
33. Two of four possible bidders compete in latest round of Mass. offshore wind contracts, Boston Globe (9/23/21)
34. Turbine tour shows House plans to spin wheel on wind policy, 22News WWLP (9/21/21)
35. Massachusetts House lawmakers preparing bill to revise offshore wind policy, Boston Business Journal (9/21/21)
36. These lawmakers wrote the climate bill. They're worried the state won't achieve it, Boston Globe (9/8/21)
37. State lawmakers are pushing on energy policy. Here are 4 issues to watch, The Berkshire Eagle (8/9/21)
38. Vineyard Wind signs labor agreement for offshore wind project; 500 union jobs guaranteed, Standard Times (7/17/21)
39. Vineyard Wind developers sign deal with unions to build $2.8b project, Boston Globe (7/16/21)
40. Federal officials approve first large, offshore wind project in U.S. 15 miles off coast of Martha's Vineyard, Boston Herald (5/11/21)
41. Legislature passes landmark climate bill, Country Gazette (3/23/21)
42. Mass. lawmakers approve climate change bill, Milford Daily News (3/20/21)
43. Climate bill back on Baker's desk, Boston Herald (3/19/21)
44. Legislature approves climate bill, sends back to Governor Baker, Boston Globe (3/19/21)
45. Rep. Roy appointed chair of committee on Beacon Hill, Franklin Country Gazette (2/16/21)

 

Please share these stories with your readers so they get a better picture.

In light of the foregoing, and as you can see, there was no lack of transparency and thus your reporting is simply wrong. You should have reached out for comment. But now that you have the truth, you ought to fix the story. And you ought to share with your readers the press release that we sent you last week so they know what the climate bill is all about.

Finally, I received hundreds of letters and held over 100 meetings on the climate bill over the course of 14 months. Not once did I hear from Mass Fiscal. That should tell you all you need to know. When you have a chance, ask the folks at Mass Fiscal what the quarrel is with the bill.

Respectfully yours,

Jeff

	Jeffrey N. Roy State Representative Chair, Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy State House Room 43 - Boston, MA 02133
	617-722-2030 (w) 508-618-7126 (fax) jeffrey.roy@mahouse.gov
	jeffreyroy.com

What’s in the Legislature’s energy/climate change legislation?

"THE LEGISLATURE suspended its rules and whisked through a climate change bill on Thursday that seeks to make Massachusetts the “Saudi Arabia of wind,” promotes the adoption of zero emission vehicles, and allows 10 communities to bar fossil fuel infrastructure in new construction.

The precise contents of the bill were not available and the funding for various initiatives will be worked out separately, but the House and Senate passed the measure swiftly – the House by a 143-9 vote and the Senate by a tally of 38-2."

Continue reading the CommonWealth Magazine article ->

https://commonwealthmagazine.org/energy/heres-whats-in-the-legislatures-energy-climate-change-legislation/

 

You can find the full text PDF of the legislation here

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/H5060

or here -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y-6KotOLjCgNTtFdMJFw6em4EElWcwsd/view?usp=sharing

The compromise bill blends two very different pieces of legislation

Conference Committee reaches agreement on climate bill

Statement of State Rep. Jeff Roy and State Senator Mike Barrett 

State Rep. Jeff Roy and State Senator Mike Barrett, chairs for their respective branches of a conference committee appointed to resolve differences between House and Senate versions of a new climate bill, announced today that a compromise has been reached. 

An Act Driving Clean Energy and Offshore Wind preserves the central ideas of bills that each branch had passed separately.  The compromise is expected to be filed tonight and to come before each legislative branch for final approval as soon as tomorrow, after which it will go to the Governor for his consideration. 

The chairs issued the following joint statement: 

“Massachusetts needs to open up huge new sources of green electric power if it’s to stay on course for reducing emissions. Today’s compromise aims to ramp up clean power, especially offshore wind but also solar, storage and networked geothermal, and run it through cars, trucks, buses, and buildings, the biggest sources of emissions in the state.  

“We thank President Biden for issuing a call to action to the entire country today,” the two continued. “Massachusetts legislators hear him, and we’re going all out.”

 

Deepwater Wind's turbines off Block Island, R.I., as seen in 2019.RODRIQUE NGOWI/ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Hill: "No miracle tech needed: How to switch to renewables now and lower costs doing it"

"The world is experiencing unprecedented fuel price increases, energy blackmail between countries, up to 7 million air pollution deaths per year worldwide and one climate-related disaster after another. Critics contend that a switch to renewable energy to solve these problems will create unstable electricity grids and drive prices up further. However, a new study from my research group at Stanford University concludes that these problems can be solved in each of the 145 countries we examined — without blackouts and at low cost using almost all existing technologies."

Continue reading the article on the report released

https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/3539703-no-miracle-tech-needed-how-to-switch-to-renewables-now-and-lower-costs-doing-it/ 

From the Opening of the report:

"Global warming, air pollution, and energy insecurity are three of the greatest problems facing humanity. Roadmaps are developed and grid analyses are performed here for 145 countries to address these problems. The roadmaps call for a 100% transition of all-purpose business-as-usual (BAU) energy to wind-water-solar (WWS) energy, efficiency, and storage, ideally by 2035, but by no later than 2050, with at least 80% by 2030. Grid stability analyses find that the countries, grouped into 24 regions, can exactly match demand with 100% WWS supply and storage, from 2050–2052. Worldwide, WWS reduces enduse energy by 56.4%, private annual energy costs by 62.7% (from $17.8 to $6.6 trillion per year), and social (private plus health plus climate) annual energy costs by 92.0% (from $83.2 to $6.6 trillion per year) at a present-value cost of B$61.5 trillion. The mean payback times of the capital cost due to energy- and social-cost savings are 5.5 and 0.8 years, respectively. "

Download and read the full report ->

https://web.stanford.edu/group/efmh/jacobson/Articles/I/145Country/22-145Countries.pdf

No miracle tech needed: How to switch to renewables now and lower costs doing it

Franklin's municipal aggregation saves $$ on your NationalGrid electric bill

"Massachusetts cities and towns with municipal aggregation are saving big $ and many have much more renewable energy than Eversource or National Grid."

Franklin residents can benefit from Municipal Aggregation with electricity from NationalGrid. It provides us a wind power generated electricity at a cheaper rate than NationalGrid provides.

Municipal Aggregation is easy. Unless you opted out, you likely already have it. For NationalGrid customers already with a provider contract or solar panels, opting out makes sense. For all others, being part of municipal aggregation saves money for no hassle.

Franklin's municipal aggregation

Shared from Twitter -> https://twitter.com/LarryChretien/status/1528910470484217857

Town of Franklin's municipal aggregation info

https://www.franklinma.gov/administrator/pages/municipal-aggregation

mass.gov info on competitive electric supply  https://www.mass.gov/service-details/what-do-i-need-to-know-about-my-electric-supply-options-in-massachusetts

NationalGrid rate table -> https://www.nationalgridus.com/MA-Home/Rates/Supply-Costs 

CommonWealth Magazine: "Pricing announced for latest offshore wind farms"

"BAKER ADMINISTRATION officials say the two latest offshore wind procurements are in compliance with the state’s price cap even though their electricity will probably end up costing more.

Under the cap, the price of electricity with each successive procurement must come in lower than the previous one. The cap has become somewhat controversial of late, with those wanting offshore wind companies to spend more on economic development initiatives advocating for elimination of the cap.  Gov. Charlie Baker and House leaders are in favor of eliminating the cap, but Senate leaders have expressed reservations about doing that."

Continue reading the article online

https://commonwealthmagazine.org/energy/pricing-announced-for-latest-offshore-wind-farms/ 

CommonWealth Magazine: "Pricing announced for latest offshore wind farms"

Ted helps Steve make sense of climate - part 4 - 03/03/22 (audio)

FM #747 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 747 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 Mar 3, 2022.  

This is part 4 of a series on Making Sense of Climate. We talk of the weather variations, the recent MA House legislation touting wind power, the Ukraine situation, and how it ties to climate, as well recent news articles. 

Ted helps me “make sense of climate” and we hope this 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 recording runs about 38 minutes, so let’s listen to my conversation with Ted McIntyre as he helps me “make sense of climate.” Audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-747-ted-mcintyre-making-sense-of-climate-03-03-22

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Links that are our talking points for this episode

Webinar for Complete Neighborhoods Initiative -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/03/webinar-scheduled-for-mar-10-complete.html 

DOER Stretch goals (deadline extended to March 18 to submit input)

• Link to read the details ->  https://www.mass.gov/info-details/stretch-energy-code-development-2022 

• Email to provide feedback  stretchcode@mass.gov 

Net zero proposal

https://commonwealthmagazine.org/energy/2-senators-say-proposed-building-code-comes-up-short/

 

Brayton Point

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/02/17/business/site-shuttered-south-coast-coal-plant-will-become-wind-industry-factory/?event=event25

 

Baker stalling on EJ committee

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/02/25/science/massachusetts-roadmap-bill-created-an-environmental-justice-advisory-council-where-is-it/?event=event25

Wind legislation editorial by Rep Jeff Roy and House Speaker Mariano

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/03/02/opinion/offshore-wind-is-future-massachusetts/

 

Link to IPCC report page 

https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/ 

Bill McKibben article

https://billmckibben.substack.com/p/heat-pumps-for-peace-and-freedom 

Article on IPCC report in Globe

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/02/28/science/impacts-climate-change-are-worse-than-we-thought-an-unflinching-new-un-report-finds/ 

The Guardian article on the IPCC report

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/28/ipcc-issues-bleakest-warning-yet-impacts-climate-breakdown

 

Court case could limit EPA

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/02/28/opinion/supreme-court-case-that-could-limit-epas-power-fight-climate-change/

 

Implication of Supreme Court EPA possible decision beyond climate….

https://www.eenews.net/articles/hill-takes-notice-as-supreme-court-mulls-epa-climate-powers/

If you have a question to raise, you can use this form -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/02/ask-franklin-matters-you-ask-question.html

 

Original Climate link

The 13 point article we talk to -> From WBUR -> “What you need to know about the new MASS Climate law” https://www.wbur.org/news/2021/03/26/new-mass-climate-law-faq

 

Mass Climate Action Network -> https://www.massclimateaction.org/recs 

 

--------------

We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.  

This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.

 

How can you help?

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors

• If you don't like something here, please let me know

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news/

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 your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

Deepwater Wind's turbines off Block Island, R.I., as seen in 2019.RODRIQUE NGOWI/ASSOCIATED PRESS