Raising NH’s solar standards would yield many economic benefits
Many reputable studies debunk a common misconception regarding solar power by providing evidence in support of “reverse cost shifts” – that is, net savings to all ratepayers. A 2017 study conducted by the state Public Utilities Commission found no evidence of a cost-shift from solar generators to ratepayers. In fact, the Acadia Center estimates the value of solar energy to all grid-dependent ratepayers at 19-24 cents/kWh, not including an additional 6.7 cents/kWh in societal value. These benefits are greater than half the full retail value of conventionally-generated electricity.
Read the full article from the NH Business Review here.
Maine Enacts Beneficial Electrification Law; State to Issue RFP for Pilot Projects
“Passage of the beneficial electrification bill shows that Maine is serious about its clean energy and climate goals,” said Emily Lewis ,Acadia Center’s climate and energy analysis center director. “Coupled with the heat pump market transformation bill, Maine is now poised to attack its two biggest sources of greenhouse gases – buildings and transportation.
“These bills offer a one-two punch by setting the state up for near-term progress through residential heat pump targets and pilot electric vehicle programs, while also establishing a path for long-term solutions by studying barriers to electrifying these sectors,” she told Microgrid Knowledge.
Read the full article from Microgrid Knowledge here.
Cap and trade for cars? ‘It gets pretty complicated’
“There’s been a successful effort to reduce electric-sector emissions. And now the states have an opportunity to pivot and really focus on the largest source of CO2 emissions in the country,” said Jordan Stutt, director of carbon programs at the Acadia Center, a Boston-based environmental group.
“Frankly, the science is making it all the more clear that we need to act quickly on this,” Stutt said. “So even though the transportation sector is notoriously difficult to clean up, that’s no longer a good enough excuse.”
Read the full article from E&E News here.
General Assembly moves likely to expand solar development in R.I.
“I don’t see how anyone can say this is a good outcome,” said Erika Niedowski, Rhode Island director for the Acadia Center, a regional environmental group. “The prospect of another year without good strategies for smart siting is really disappointing.”
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Grow Smart said in an email that the stripped-down bill “fails to achieve any solar siting reforms.” And in a recent letter to Sosnowski, chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Agriculture, the Acadia Center, Save The Bay, Audubon and other environmental groups argue that controls on development are critical.
Read the full article from Providence Journal here.
Critics say Massachusetts’ $1 billion clean energy bill not bold enough
The plan, known as GreenWorks, was first laid out in broad strokes by House Speaker Robert DeLeo in February. The announcement sparked excitement because the House has traditionally been unwilling to take bold action on climate change issues, said Deborah Donovan, Massachusetts director of the Acadia Center, a nonprofit that advocates for solutions to climate change.
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This uncertainty is not good enough, Donovan said.
“We’re working with the Legislature to make it clear that we need more than an empty bag that could maybe get filled,” she said.
Read the full article from Energy News Network here.
New Housing Issue Complicates R.I.’s Solar-Siting Plans
The solar-siting bills have created a rift among environmental groups, many of whom serve on the OER’s solar advisory board. They are at odds over the loss of open space and forests and the need for renewable energy to curb climate emissions. The Conservation Law Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, the Northeast Clean Energy Council, and the Acadia Center see the bill as much-needed action this year that will stem the loss of woodlands.
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But the Acadia Center say communities are overwhelmed with solar projects and urgently need help to address the deluge of projects.
“We’re still very much urging more comprehensive action on solar siting this year,” said Erika Niedowski, Rhode Island director for the Acadia Center. “The status quo is not serving anyone well.”
Read the full article from ecoRI News here.
What’s The Significance Of Connecticut’s New Commitment To Offshore Wind?
This hour we take a look at some of the environmental bills the Connecticut General Assembly passed this legislative session, including a new commitment to offshore wind power. We learn what this renewable energy source means for the state’s power grid—and its economy.
GUESTS:
- Dr. Emily Lewis – Director of the Climate and Energy Analysis Center at the Acadia Center, based in Hartford (@elewisobrien)
- Dr. Julie Klinger – Assistant Professor at Boston University’s Pardee School of Global Studies. She’s the co-director of BU’s Land Use and Livelihoods Initiative, and the author of Rare Earth Frontiers: From Subterranean Soils to Lunar Landscapes
- Dr. Caitlin McDonough MacKenzie – David H. Smith Conservation Researcher at the University of Maine, and lead author on a recent paper about native wildflower loss in New England (@CaitlinInMaine)
Listen to the full episode from WNPR here.
Hydro power is good, but safeguards needed
Massachusetts is also seeking to diversify its low emitting energy resources by contracting for additional supplies of hydropower from Quebec. Acadia Center data indicate that if Massachusetts and the region continue their over-reliance on natural gas, it will be impossible to meet their long-term goals for emissions reductions. Studies conducted in Quebec conclude that Canadian hydropower from the existing system of dams is a low-carbon energy source. Acadia Center’s EnergyVision 2030 study shows that hydropower can play an important role in the Northeast’s shift away from fossil fuels, growing to be about 20 percent of the region’s energy supply by 2030 and allowing local clean energy sources to grow even faster. But hydro’s contribution is only of value if energy deliveries grow and occur in a way that results in verifiable carbon reductions.
Read the full article from CommonWealth Magazine here.
Offshore wind energy closer to sweeping into Connecticut
Emily Lewis, director of climate and energy analysis at Acadia Center, pointed to the environmental and climate change benefits. “Offshore wind is a critical piece of the puzzle to reducing emissions in the northeast, and Connecticut is now poised to join its neighbors in harnessing this resource and benefitting from growth of this new clean energy industry,” she said in a statement.
Read the full article from The Middletown Press here.
Connecticut House saves net metering, for now, but green groups want more
Green groups in Connecticut were pushing for a 100% carbon free mandate, protections on pipeline methane leaks, stronger energy efficiency programs and reducing fossil fuel reliance, but “none of that was taken into consideration,” in this bill, Senior Policy Advocate and Connecticut Director at Acadia Center Amy McLean Salls told Utility Dive.
“The industry really feels that any cap on virtual net metering is not okay. So that’s one of the things that didn’t go the way I think that the advocates would have liked,” said McLean Salls.
Read the full article from Utility Dive here.