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SMART is Open!

November 26th was a big day for solar energy in Massachusetts. As promised, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (“DOER”) opened the application portal for the long-anticipated SMART Program. Applications received...more

Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities Investigates Issues Relating to Net Metering, Energy Storage, and Forward Capacity...

On October 3, 2017, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (“DPU”) opened a new docket (D.P.U. 17-146) to investigate two issues: whether energy storage systems paired with net metering facilities are eligible for...more

SMART Moves to a New Forum: Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities to Consider a SMART Tariff

Stakeholders have been following the development of “SMART” as a successor to the SREC program in Massachusetts for more than a year.  (See our previous posts on the development process here, here, and here.)  As it stands,...more

10/12/2017  /  Electricity , Public Utility , SMART , SREC , Tariffs

Eversource Proposes Rate Increases and $400 Million in Grid Modernization Investments

On January 17, 2017, Eversource Energy filed a petition with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) that would increase base distribution rates for its 1.4 million electricity customers across the...more

DOER’s Solar Incentive Straw Proposal: Optimism, Anxiety, Uncertainty.

On September 23, DOER presented a straw proposal for the next phase of Massachusetts solar incentives. DOER’s ambitious proposal for a tariff-based program reflects a thoughtful development process and a laudable goal of...more

Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities Opens Investigation on Electric Vehicles and Electric Vehicle Charging

On December 23rd, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (the Department) issued an Order opening an investigation into electric vehicles and electric vehicle charging . That Order, issued the same day as the...more

Wind Turbines Still Don’t Hurt Property Values

A report published last week by researchers at the University of Connecticut and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory looked at more than 122,000 home sales that occurred between 1998 and 2012 in proximity to current or...more

1/20/2014  /  Property Valuation , Wind Power

Massachusetts DOER Releases Draft SREC II Regulations

The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (MA DOER) has released draft regulations for its SREC II solar program. The regulations are the latest step toward implementing the Commonwealth’s goal to install a total of...more

Massachusetts DPU Presents Straw Proposal For Modernizing The Electric Grid

On December 23rd, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) issued a straw proposal in docket 12-76 outlining a regulatory mechanism intended to advance modernization of the electric grid in Massachusetts. The...more

Massachusetts Working Towards Wind Siting Standards

Last summer, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs announced an initiative to support municipalities, developers, and other stakeholders in improving the siting process for wind energy...more

California Takes Pioneering Role on Energy Storage Policy

I noted in July that emerging energy storage technologies have received increasing attention from policymakers as an essential element for improving the efficiency and reliability of the electric grid. Adequate storage is...more

Do Wind Turbines Hurt Property Values?

As I last discussed in June, during the past few years, proximate property owners have increasingly raised complaints about the siting and operation of wind turbines in Massachusetts. This phenomenon is hardly unique to...more

Is New England Moving Towards Importing Canadian Hydro as a Counterweight to Its Reliance on Natural Gas? Updates from the...

Back in June, I noted that the New England states had tasked the New England States Committee on Electricity (“NESCOE”) with exploring the possibility of importing more large-scale Canadian hydro into New England. Earlier...more

If We Lease It, Will They Build? Offshore Wind Energy Lease Sale Number 2

On Monday, the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced the nation’s second offshore wind energy lease sale – this time for an area off the Virginia coast. The first competitive...more

Massachusetts Considers Approach to Grid Modernization

In October, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities opened an investigation to explore policies that would enable Massachusetts to “take advantage of grid modernization opportunities.” ...more

Is There a Future for Community Wind In Massachusetts?

Last week, Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Richard Sullivan announced an “inter-agency initiative . . . to provide support and guidance to municipalities, developers and stakeholders for land-based...more

Was 2009 Really That Long Ago? Thoughts On Federal Carbon Policy

It seems hard to believe now, but only a few years ago it looked like we might get federal cap-and-trade legislation to address greenhouse gas emissions. Almost exactly four years ago the House of Representatives passed the...more

Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities Cleans Up Net Metering Regulations

Yesterday, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) issued an Order, D.P.U. 11-11-E, that addresses several controversies that had arisen out of its Order, D.P.U. 11-11-C, issued last summer. Although the Order...more

An ITC For Storage – Bipartisan Support?

Both chambers of Congress have introduced bills that would provide investment tax credits for energy storage projects. Both bills even appear to have some (perhaps superficial) bipartisan support. In the Senate, the...more

New England States to Coordinate Look Into Large Hydro Imports

Last week, five New England States (all but New Hampshire) announced a collaborative effort to explore opportunities for expanding imports of power from large hydro facilities into New England. The states tabbed the New...more

Google Proposes a “Renewable Energy Tariff”

Google wants more options for how it buys its energy and has put out a white paper with a roadmap for how utilities could provide those options. In short, Google’s detail-light proposal is that utilities develop an optional...more

6/10/2013  /  Google , Renewable Energy , Tariffs

Technically, We Could Green The Grid and Keep The Lights On; Do We Have The Policies to Get Us There?

One concern with adding large amounts of renewable generation to the electric grid is that the variability of renewable resources such as solar and wind might render the electric grid unreliable. According to a recent report...more

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