Massachusetts Manufacturing Energy Collaboration
Divisive Clean Energy Future in New England Area Over the past years there has been a fight over the building of an AVANGRID power line bringing hydroelectric energy from Quebec to the New England area. The project is estimated to cost $1B, and last week was hit with a referendum that would kill the project….
Elon Musk unveiled a $100M prize pool for the Carbon Removal XPrize challenge for companies to design and build carbon capture technologies. More specifically, the goal is for teams to construct a project that makes a meaningful difference in removing carbon from the atmosphere, instead of just neutralizing it to slow global warming. Solutions with this specific….
Recently, the Baker Administration released a draft of the roadmap to achieve zero emissions by 2050, part of which includes the 2030 Clean Energy and Climate Plan (CECP). This plan establishes carbon reduction goals of 45% by 2030. We are currently at 22%, meaning this plan will require the building of more renewables and the….
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….