Massachusetts Manufacturing Energy Collaboration
As companies ask their employees to work from home more, residential energy usage is on the rise. In comparison to 2016-2019, residential electricity usage in 2020 has increased by 10%, commercial electricity usage has decreased by 12%, and industrial electricity usage has decreased by 14%. Particularly, this has been the case in the most densely….
Between September 22 and 24, natural gas prices experienced a 23% gain, closing at $2.248/MMBtu. This marks the highest two-day gain since November 11, 2018. Part of this is due to increased usage and lower buildup of storage. The average five-year buildup of storage for the week ending on September 18, 2020 has been 80….
On April 15, ISO-NE introduced a new proposal to the federal regulators of the Energy Security Improvements authority for improving reliability during shortages and winter months. Some of these initiatives include: Day-Ahead Replacement Energy Reserve (RER); Day-Ahead Energy Imbalance Reserve (EIR); Day-Ahead Generation Contingency Reserve (GCR). As mentioned, the main goal is of improving energy….
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has changed the course of how businesses of all sizes operate, most directly reflected by changes in their energy consumption patterns. Measures being implemented to flatten the hospitalization capacity curve have also flattened peak energy consumption times as seen below, shaving off the peaks. This indicates the peak is happening at….
On February 26, 2020, Eversource announced a deal to purchase all $1.1B of Columbia Gas assets from their parent company NiSource, setting the stage for their operations to be managed by the largest energy player in the New England area. This means electric customers who also received Columbia Gas service will be controlled by a….
During the winter season, gas prices typically skyrocket as people begin making use of heating, yet this has not been the case recently. Weather phenomena this winter have proven to be very mild when compared to prior years, leading to a surplus of natural gas supply, and a falling of prices. This past Tuesday, natural….
Last month, Brookline approved legislation banning natural gas hookups for new buildings, giving the idea for other cities to consider this. Recently, the towns of Cambridge, Newton, Lexington, Arlington, and 12 others have held meetings to discuss implementation of the same. Proponents for the initiative argue that a shift in technology is needed at the….
Last week, the Baker administration and three utilities unanimously selected Mayflower Wind to provide 804 MW of clean offshore wind capacity to Massachusetts, which is enough capacity to power approximately half a million homes. With this selection, the state is poised to reach the 1.6 GW of offshore wind capacity required by a 2016 state….
The federal solar tax credit, formally known as the solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), is set to reduce in 2020. Given that it is mid-to-late October, this means you only have two months or so to take advantage of the credit before it reduces. Until 2020, the credit is equal to 30% of the qualified….
Even though California and New England are two parts of the United States most committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, they are behind on their 2050 goals, according to several recent reports. For example, California aims to reduce emissions by 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. A report from Next 10 released on October….