Massachusetts Considers Legislation to Ban Gas in New Buildings

The Canadian Wildfires Ominously Messed Up a Clean Energy Power Line

The Quebec forest fires that have recently contributed to some of the worst smoke days in American history are also wreaking minor havoc on the electric grid.

Observers of electricity markets were puzzled Wednesday evening when grid operator ISO-New England announced that “due to an unanticipated transmission outage and higher-than-forecast consumer demand,” the New England grid would be calling on reserves “to balance the regional power system.” Demand that day did not seem particularly or unexpectedly high, nor were there any obvious supply issues in New England, so why was ISO-NE having trouble? More illumination came Thursday, when it specified there was a transmission issue with its imported power.

On the other hand, as Joe LaRusso of the Acadia Center, a New England clean energy group, pointed out to me, transmission is also what saved the day when Quebec’s imports were shut off, as imports from New York picked up the slack.

“It serves as a demonstration not that transmission is a weak link, but that it’s the principle means of enabling balancing authorities like ISO-NE and NYISO to rely on one another to make up for variations in capacity.” That’s as true of “unplanned generator and transmission outages” as was the case in Quebec, as it is for more predictable fluctuations in solar and wind power.

To read the full article from Heatmap, click here.

Massachusetts has vast solar potential, according to new state report

As Mass. towns adopt new climate-friendly building codes, homebuilders push back

Massachusetts faces two enormous challenges: The cost of housing and the changing climate.

And while nearly everyone agrees the state needs to tackle both of them, the debate over a new report out last week highlights how — at least to some — the solutions sometimes conflict.

The report, published by the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Massachusetts (HBRAMA), and written by economists at MIT and Wentworth, argues that the new net-zero building codes being adopted by communities around the state could increase the cost of building a new single-family home by anywhere from $10,000 to $23,000. That, they warn, could push housing out of reach for even more Massachusetts families.

Then there are state and federal initiatives that help pay for them. One of the major state programs, Mass Save, provides a $15,000 subsidy for all-electric single-family homes. The state also offers tax credits of up to $1,000 for homes that use solar-generated electricity and hot water.

Leaving those out was a major omission, said Kyle Murray, Massachusetts program director for the Acadia Center, a non-profit organization for clean energy solutions.

“The report estimates a cost premium, but that’s without factoring in public incentives,” he said. “So I would disagree with that major conclusion about costs going up.”

To read the full article from the Boston Globe, click here.

Who decides where we get electricity and how much we pay? Mostly White, politically connected men

Few government officials will have a bigger say in how states transition from fossil fuels than public utility commissioners.

Yet, for the most part, these boards operate below the radar, rarely drawing the level of scrutiny faced by other agencies or officeholders.

Jared Heern wants to change that.

In an effort to draw more attention to the role of state utility commissions, Heern, a postdoctoral research associate at the Institute at Brown University for Environment and Society, recently assembled data on the more than 800 commissioners who served on public utility commissions across the country between 2000 and 2020. The results are laid out in a new study published in the journal Energy Research and Social Science.

“These proceedings can be very technical and opaque,” said Oliver Tully, director of utility innovation at the Acadia Center. “It can be challenging for groups who are already limited in terms of resources to participate meaningfully in proceedings where there is a lot of jargon and data to wade through.”

To read the full article Energy News Network, click here.

How social movements catalyse entrepreneurship in emerging industries such as green energy

Social movements could help support finding innovative solutions to issues such as climate change by encouraging entrepreneurial activity. Research shows that social movements can also play a key role in bringing new players into the solar industry, green building and recycling. Such collective enterprises could help push forward the changes needed for entrepreneurship to flourish in emerging industries like green energy.

In the search for innovative solutions to the climate crisis and other challenges, new businesses may find an unexpected source of support: social movements. Though often associated with opposition and protest, such collective enterprises can be crucial in encouraging entrepreneurial activity in emerging industries, serving as catalysts for innovation in some of the areas where it’s needed most. To understand the relationship between social movements and entrepreneurship, we looked at the solar power industry in the US and the tech-focused advocacy organizations dedicated to promoting renewable energy.

We wanted to know whether these social movement organizations can benefit entrepreneurship, as well as where and when they may be most effective in bringing new entrants into the fray.Of course, not all social movement organizations – those dedicated to promoting shared social or cultural goals – are created equal. The US-based organizations we studied had an approach that was targeted and goal-oriented rather than confrontational; they were interested more in educating than in shouting. Examples of the groups we looked at were Carolina Land and Lakes, Acadia Center and the Energy Trust of Oregon and all launched various initiatives to promote clean energy. They held training and educational programmes; fought misinformation and found common ground; pushed for regulatory reform; and managed programmes for technology swapping or upgrading.

When an industry is in its infancy, social movements help it and new players come across as viable and legitimate. They clarify the unknowns in a company’s offering, push for legal frameworks that make room for them, and target potential customers. Clean energy groups can increase the incidence of state-based incentives like sales tax credits for renewable technologies. Acadia Center, for example, publishes data on the role of clean energy investments on job creation and economic growth, and designs market-based strategies for renewables and advocates for policies to implement them.

To see the original article on the European Sting, click here.

No juice on the Mass. Pike: Charging stations out of order; what does it mean for drivers?

Range anxiety is alive and well in Central Massachusetts.

What is range anxiety? It’s nervous energy a driver of a fully electric vehicle feels when the dashboard signals a dangerously low power level and there are few, if any, charging stations nearby.

Panic can set it because the thought of running out of juice and being stuck along a busy highway or in the middle of nowhere can grate on the nerves.

There is a workaround for the charging station challenge on the Pike, said Joseph LaRusso, senior advocate and manager of clean grid initiative at Acadia Center, a Boston-based nonprofit that develops clean-energy solutions.

That workaround is good planning.

LaRusso drives his EV on the Pike on the way to visiting in-laws in Utica, New York, and plugs in at home by way of a home-based charger to make sure he departs with a full charge.

“I’ve never relied on chargers on the Pike. There are too few of them,” said LaRusso.

Using his mobile application, LaRusso said he’s located plenty of fast chargers just minutes off the Pike, including in Auburn and Chicopee. With a quick stop to power boost, LaRusso has the confidence to reach his destination.

LaRusso is a savvy EV owner, with good planning skills. But what about the inexperienced EV owner who doesn’t think ahead and relies on chargers in places like the Pike to reach a destination? Or those, like Mills, who are planning especially long trips?

“If people hear in the news that a major artery in the commonwealth is without chargers, they might say, ‘Oh, gosh.’ They likely will pause about purchasing an EV. They might go with a hybrid instead.”

To read the full article in the Telegram & Gazette, click here.

New England solar is already displacing vast quantities of methane gas or fuel oil

Joe LaRusso, the manager of the Clean Grid Initiative at Acadia Center, pointed out what he called the most interesting fact presented as the recent FERC New England Gas-Electric Forum:

“Every 700 MW of solar offsets 7-10 million gals. of fuel oil or 1-1.5 billion cubic feet of methane gas. There’s about 5,500 MW of solar in New England today, & about 700 MW is being added *every year.*

And most of that comes from “rooftop” – behind-the-meter – solar, not big utility farms. And most of that is in Massachusetts and Connecticut, with Vermont punching well above its weight. New Hampshire and Maine are real laggards.

To read the article from Granite Geek, click here.

NJ gas customers can save thousands with electric appliances, new study finds

Report: New Jersey gas customers can save up to thousands of dollars annually by weatherizing, converting to electric appliances like heat pumps

Acadia Center Report finds that some residents who upgrade to electric appliances can save up to 69% on energy bills when paired with weatherization, find relief from volatile fossil fuel prices

TRENTON, NJ, June 22, 2023 — New Jerseyans in an average insulated gas-heated home can save anywhere from 4% to 41% on their annual energy bills by adopting highly efficient electric appliances such as heat pumps depending on utility service territory, and up to 69% in a typical drafty home if paired with weatherization, according to a new report out today by Acadia Center.

Based on winter 2022-2023 utility rates, Acadia Center analysts found that New Jerseyans who live in poorly insulated gas homes can save $1,550 to $3,240 each year, a range of 47% to 69% savings on annual energy bills depending on service territory, by investing in electrification and weatherization.

“This report makes clear that switching from fossil fuels can save New Jerseyans money,” said Ben Butterworth, Director of Climate, Energy & Equity Analysis at Acadia Center. “With volatile natural gas prices driving energy bill spikes, it’s vital New Jerseyans understand they can save money by upgrading their homes to utilize clean electric appliances like heat pumps. For many customers, this can free up thousands of dollars each year to spend on groceries, prescriptions, childcare, and other daily necessities.”

This report, “The Future is Electric: How the Average New Jersey Household Can Save by Electrifying,” updates a 2022 analysis that calculated savings using low gas rates from winter 2021-2022, which demonstrated that the average household in New Jersey would see annual bill savings of about 20% by pairing electrification with weatherization. The 2022 report demonstrated that those savings jump to more than 50% for a typical drafty home electrifying and improving weatherization. Because utility gas rates for New Jersey households increased 51% on average in the past two years, even more dramatic savings are now available for gas customers who adopt weatherization and highly efficient all-electric alternatives like heat pumps.

Swapping fossil fuel burning appliances with electric alternatives would also eliminate a significant source of indoor and outdoor air pollution, the impacts of which are disproportionately borne by low-income households and communities of color. Gas appliances emit harmful pollutants such nitrogen dioxide (NO2) that can exacerbate respiratory illnesses when burned indoors. Children are particularly at risk, as children who live in homes with gas stoves have a 42% higher risk of developing asthma symptoms and a peer-reviewed study found that nationwide, gas stove use can be attributed to 12.7% of childhood asthma cases.

“Electrifying and weatherizing low-income homes can deliver equitable economic benefits and close health disparities for millions of Black and brown New Jerseyans who are more likely to be exposed to air pollution from our buildings, heavy industry and transportation emissions,” said Nicole Miller, Vice Chair of the New Jersey Progressive Equitable Energy Coalition. “These families should not be overlooked or left behind. New Jersey leaders must create pathways to increase affordability and ensure those vulnerable households who can benefit most from all-electric, comfortable homes are the first in line.”

Thanks to the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, New Jersey residents will soon be able to take advantage of rebates and incentives to lower the upfront cost of weatherization and highly efficient electric appliances such as heat pumps, including up to $1,600 for weatherization and up to $8,000for air-source heat pumps. While New Jersey offers anywhere from $390 to $1,000 for cold climate heat pumps depending on utility service territory, more needs to be done to increase access to programs to help low- and moderate-income households weatherize their homes and adopt highly efficient electric alternatives.

“New Jersey has ambitious goals to deliver the economic, health, and climate benefits of all-electric homes but no programs to achieve those goals,” said Barbara Blumenthal, Research Director at the New Jersey Conservation Foundation. “This report shows that the longer state regulators at the Board of Public Utilities and legislative leaders delay in creating programs to accelerate the adoption of highly efficient electric appliances like heat pumps, the more it will cost New Jersey gas customers stuck with higher bills and less comfortable homes,” she concluded.

In New Jersey, 73% of homes rely on natural gas for heating. Governor Phil Murphy has set ambitious goals to deploy heat pumps in 400,000 New Jersey homes and 20,000 commercial properties by 2030. Rapidly transitioning New Jersey’s homes and buildings, which make up 26% of the state’s total emissions, is essential to meeting the state’s goal to reduce emissions 80% by 2050.

To see the original article in Insider NJ, click here.

MassDOT removing six unreliable Turnpike EV chargers

After years of unreliable electric charging service on the Massachusetts Turnpike, the Department of Transportation is looking for a total reboot.

The six charging stations at rest stops on the Pike have been permanently taken out of service, the agency said. Now MassDOT is in the early stages of selecting a vendor to remove the non-functional terminals and install new ones.

The replacement process will take time, given state procurement rules, said Kyle Murray, Massachusetts program director at the nonprofit Acadia Center who is following the EV transition. The administration of Gov. Maura Healey should move more quickly than the prior Baker administration, he said.

“I’m confident that we will see the pace pick up a bit with the new administration in place,” Murray said. “Obviously they’re still getting their legs under them, and any new policies they put in place are going to have some lag time until implementation.”

Read the full article from the Boston Globe here.