Meet Anya Poplavska – Acadia Center’s Transmission Advocacy Fellow

What’s your name and title at Acadia Center?

My name is Anya Poplavska, and I’m currently a Transmission Advocacy Fellow working at Acadia Center.

So – you’re a fellow? How does that work?

I’m funded to work at Acadia Center for a year through an innovative program that RMI (the Rocky Mountain Institute) has started to train more advocates in the transmission space. Unfortunately, there’s a shortage of professionals ready to hit the ground running on transmission advocacy, given it’s a pretty thorny topic – which is why the fellowship was created. I spend 80% of my time at Acadia Center, in a full-time capacity like any other employee, and I spend the other 20% of my time getting training from RMI on transmission topics. This includes peer learning with the other fellows, readings, lectures, mentorship, and more. It’s a comprehensive and helpful program – I feel grateful that my day-to-day job consists of learning as much as I can.

What is transmission in the context of clean energy? Why is it important?

Simply put, transmission is how power flows from point A to point B. Think about how you can flip on a light switch or charge your devices by plugging them into an outlet at home – that power was originally generated elsewhere and was delivered to your home. ‘Transmission’ is how that energy gets delivered to you, with lines that run at high voltages and typically long distances to carry power from an energy source to your home. Transmission is critical to keep the lights on – without it, we can’t get power from point A to point B. Transmission is also an important tool for renewables – think of transmission as a highway; the more capacity we open and the better we plan it, the more we can get clean energy resources plugged into this ‘highway’ of power lines. Transmission, for this reason, can typically help decrease prices if planned and invested in prudently – it allows more resource competition, which is critical at a time where clean energy resources are encountering years-long wait times to get plugged into our grid.

What projects are you working on now? What does a typical day look like for you as a fellow?

One of my favorite things about working at Acadia Center is the variety of my day-to-day work! On the state level, I’m advancing intervenor compensation legislation and a bill to deploy Grid Enhancing Technologies (GETs) on transmission lines. Intervenor compensation helps underrepresented groups participate in utility proceedings, while GETs improve the efficiency of existing transmission lines. This work involves drafting legislation, research, writing, and many meetings. On the regional transmission level, I’m involved in New England’s “Longer Term Transmission Planning Process,” which is focused on soliciting proposals for new transmission projects. We’re preparing to submit comments on a Request for Proposals process, we’re always reading and updating our advocacy positions as the process moves along, and we work with other advocates. Additionally, I track the federal “Order 1920”, which mandates transmission planning in every region – so I attend many meetings on this topic to see how compliance is happening with this Order, and provide our feedback to represent the public interest. Beyond this, I’m working on Acadia’s internship program to promote diversity, reading a LOT about transmission, and doing other projects, like researching Community Benefits Agreements.

Can you tell us more about what programs Acadia Center is working on regarding Transmission?

Acadia Center’s Communities and Clean Grid project engages municipalities, keeping them informed about decisions and ongoing discussions at the Independent System Operator (ISO) in New England, which manages transmission and wholesale energy markets. We also participate in ISO stakeholder meetings and serve as a voting member on key issues. Additionally, The Acadia Center, along with Nergica, is working with stakeholders on the Northeast Grid Planning Forum to enhance coordination between the eastern U.S. and Canadian grids, aiming for a collaborative energy system (including interregional transmission) that empowers both regions.

What got you interested in this work?

I was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, and raised in California as a first-generation Ukrainian-American. While growing up in the U.S., I was aware of the privileges I had, but also saw the environmental damage in Ukraine, from Chernobyl’s legacy to pollution near my grandmother’s home. These experiences sparked my passion for environmental protection. I also recognized that marginalized communities in the U.S. face similar environmental harms, typically stemming from polluting fossil fuel sources more likely to be sited where they live. It even goes deeper, where gentrification and inequalities between different communities can even explain things like variations in tree canopy density. Overall, my memories of growing up in California – ones that came at a sharp contrast to my experiences in Ukraine – have made me passionate about ensuring our domestic environmental action is equitable and protects vulnerable communities. I started doing environmental activism when I was 14, I spent all of college trying a myriad of different environmental internships, and post-graduation I landed at the U.S. Department of Energy working on equitable access to clean energy. I’m particularly drawn to clean energy within the climate space for its potential to create wealth and independence for communities—and I generally find it fascinating!

Which issues do you feel are most important to the clean energy transition?

I will always beat the drum of centering equity in conversations regarding clean energy. To explain why, I think it’s important to put the clean energy transition into context – we’re dealing with a monumental shift in the way we consume energy and the way we plan our future. I think of it as akin to the industrial revolution, honestly. When we can so drastically change the way we do things, we should get it right and ensure that communities are front and center in the decision-making process, that they own clean energy sources, and that they financially + materially benefit from what happens. I will say, this same issue is what makes transmission a sticky issue. Transmission happens at such a large scale, and there’s a lot of technocratic discussions that are decentered from people’s day to day lives – which is ironic, because we all do pay for transmission at the end of the day through our utility bills! So I do think it’s important that we build more transmission – research shows that the benefits of tax credits stemming from the Inflation Reduction Act won’t be realized without MASSIVE amounts of new transmission – but I think we do need to do a better job of communicating how clean energy and transmission affects communities + their lives. We also see massive backlash from communities when it comes to siting transmission and clean energy generally – I think all this ties together and truly is the barrier to us pushing these beneficial technologies and transmission forward.

What advice do you have for any other folks/young people hoping to get into the climate/clean energy space generally?

Honestly, I would say to not get discouraged – I feel like it’s hard to know how much opportunity there is in the climate field until you’ve dipped your toe in – I can’t tell you how many jobs I’m seeing pop up due to large influxes in government funding, private capital, philanthropy, etc. I would encourage people to follow what they’re passionate about and to be strategic about the future; i.e., ask yourself, what will be booming 10 years from now? Personally, I think clean energy will continue to grow and be an essential field. Trust that what you’re pursuing is a valuable skill, even if it doesn’t feel that way in this moment or if people tell you there’s not many ‘jobs in the climate space’ (which I think is untrue).

Report Outlines Scope, Challenges of Clean Energy Siting in New England

A new policy paper from the Acadia Center and the Clean Air Task Force (CATF) emphasizes the importance of community engagement to enabling the wide-scale deployment of clean energy infrastructure over the next two decades. 

“For New England to build out its infrastructure at the speed and scale needed to unlock a local energy transition, it will take buy-in, acceptance and trust from the communities that will host these clean energy resources,” the climate advocacy nonprofit wrote in the report, published Nov. 25. 

The paper includes a quantitative literature review of five recent studies on decarbonization in the region, which, on average, indicate New England’s peak load will grow to 55 GW by 2050, compared with the 2024 peak load of 24,310 MW. This figure is in line with ISO-NE’s projection of a 57-GW winter evening peak in 2050.  

To meet the growing demand, the review found the region will need to add “up to 5 GW of new clean energy capacity per year for the next twenty years,” assuming the region’s existing nuclear plants remain online. The studies estimated on average that 84% of generation in 2050 will come from renewables.  

“The highest order recommendation is that the region must adopt a diverse, clean energy portfolio approach to achieve decarbonization goals while keeping the lights on and heat pumps running,” Acadia said, adding that this portfolio should include a mix of renewables, clean firm generation, interregional transmission, demand flexibility, energy efficiency and storage. 

The organization emphasized how energy efficiency and demand flexibility could help significantly reduce the peak, with the studies estimating that flexibility could reduce the 2050 peak by about 7%. This peak reduction could save the region billions in transmission costs alone; ISO-NE found in its 2050 Transmission Study that a 10% reduction in peak load could reduce the overall transmission buildout cost by about a third.  

Acadia noted that energy efficiency and building retrofits were not modeled in detail in the studies and said more research is needed to quantify the full potential of both efficiency and demand flexibility. 

“Increased modeling focus on the cost-effective potential of building envelope improvements to reduce overall space heating demand could reveal lower levels of generation buildout than currently found by these studies,” the group wrote.  

“Energy efficiency can and should be deployed as a competitive resource, able to be procured and acquired by the MWh or MW just as states and the region currently procure generation resources,” the group added, noting that the prices of efficiency procurements would likely be cost-competitive with solicitations of large-scale renewables.  

Community Buy-in Needed

Efficiency, demand flexibility, advanced transmission technologies, repowering existing renewable sites and strategies like agrivoltaics can help reduce the overall infrastructure footprint, but any decarbonization scenario will still require large amounts of new infrastructure, the report said.  

To enable the construction of this infrastructure, developers must do a better job building community buy-in for their projects, incorporating feedback into project design, and providing tangible local benefits, Acadia wrote.  

The report features case studies of several high-profile projects from recent years, including the canceled Aroostook Renewable Gateway and Twin States Clean Energy Link projects, along with Eversource Energy’s substation in East Boston — which is expected to come in service in 2025, 11 years after it was initially proposed. 

“Levels of community support or opposition are key factors in a project’s success or failure,” Acadia wrote. “High profile project failures and stories of bad actors spread between communities and stoke opposition.” 

The organization added that community benefit agreements alone are not enough to prevent opposition and said “the process of negotiating and implementing community benefits programs is as important as the benefits themselves.” 

“Development of a community benefit should occur through an early, inclusive, community-led process that not only informs the structure of community benefits program, but also incorporates community input into the design of the project itself,” Acadia wrote, adding that benefit plans should include accountability measures to ensure promises are met. 

Community opposition can also be amplified by fossil fuel companies and incumbent power producers, Acadia said, referencing the campaign to stop the New England Clean Energy Connect Pipeline and the challenges to the Vineyard Wind project funded by fossil fuel groups. (See Avangrid Sues NextEra over ‘Scorched-earth Scheme’ to Stop NECEC.) 

“Those who have benefited from the region’s widespread reliance on fossil fuel infrastructure are reluctant to accept, and often in opposition to, shifting the resource mix [toward] clean energy generation,” Acadia wrote. “Incumbent power generators have interfered in infrastructure development in numerous instances, particularly around transmission that would bring new clean energy supply into the market.” 

To read the full article from RTO Insider, click here.

Mass Pike is finally getting more EV chargers — by 2026

Electric vehicle drivers looking for a speedy recharge along the Mass. Turnpike can look forward to some major improvements over the next two years.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation is about to award a new 30-year contract for managing 18 state-owned rest stops along the Pike and other highways. The contract requires the manager install new fast chargers at eight of the 11 rest stops on the Pike by the end of 2026, with more expected by the beginning of 2028 around the state at stops on Routes 3, 6, 24, and 128.

The transportation sector accounts for 37 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in Massachusetts and the state’s climate plan to curb emissions relies on convincing almost one million drivers to switch to EVs by 2030, 10 times the current number of EVs on the road.

Adding better chargers on the turnpike is a “critical piece of electrifying transportation,” according to Kyle Murray, Massachusetts Program Director at the nonprofit Acadia Center.

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

How Trump could stall Massachusetts’ electric vehicle transition

Trump has offered contradictory statements about EVs during the campaign and may not be able to make all of the changes he seeks, experts said.

“Sometimes with the president-elect, there is a gap between rhetoric and action,” said Kyle Murray, director of state program implementation at the Acadia Center in Boston. “It can be difficult to judge what is actually going to occur.”

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

New Report Outlines New England’s Renewable Energy Needs

A new report from the Acadia Center and the Clean Air Task Force examines the critical role that community engagement will play in meeting New England’s 2050 decarbonization goals. The report highlights the opportunity to accelerate the region’s renewable energy progress by addressing local concerns and better equipping communities to meaningfully participate in the siting and approval processes.

The laws and policies of most New England states generally target 80% to 100% greenhouse gas emissions reductions below 1990 levels by 2050.

Drawing from prominent case studies from around the region, the report also identifies promising options for developers, communities, and policymakers to improve project planning and engagement, helping reduce the risk of failures, legal challenges, and delays.

Without comprehensive reforms to improve community engagement processes and modernize siting and permitting policies, the region’s renewable energy transition risks significant delays and setbacks, according to report’s authors.

Part 1 of the report examines New England’s renewable energy infrastructure needs. Part 2 examines how to build a supportive community and policy environment for renewable energy development, while considering several case studies in the region.

The two-part report summarizes the findings of a yearlong assessment, offering options and opportunities for both state and local governments, as well as for community stakeholders and project developers.

As New England transitions from fossil fuels to a decarbonized, renewable grid, the success of this transformation will depend on active and meaningful community engagement, according to the authors. Without local buy-in, critical energy projects will continue to face significant headwinds and delays, putting the region’s climate goals at risk, they added.

To read the full article from ecoRI, click here.

Massport to invest $60 million to create electric shore power for growing cruise ship industry

Massport announced plans on Friday to spend $60 million to build an electric power system allowing some specially-equipped cruise ships to plug in and switch off diesel engines while docked.

Kyle Murray, who directs state policy at the Acadia Center, a New England environmental and clean energy nonprofit, says the support marks a shift in statements from policymakers — who once generally only praised the economic boons of shipping in the region.

“(Shipping) has flown under a lot of groups’ radar because it’s so complicated to decarbonize these sectors,” he said.

An ambitious climate bill, passed last week by the Legislature, revised Massport’s charter to require the agency focus on greenhouse gas emissions and impact on local communities.

“That’s a part of their mission going forward,” Murray said. “I think we’re going to see a lot more attention drawn to this this going forward.”

To read the full article from GBH, click here.

New report finds that improved community engagement for clean infrastructure projects is critical to New England’s energy transition

Download the Press Release: EATS Report Press Release

Full Report: The Energy is About to Shift

Webinar: 

Webinar PowerPoint: Energy is About to Shift Webinar

Media Contacts:
Samantha Beairsto
Deputy Director, Communications and Development,
Acadia Center
sbeairsto@acadiacenter.org, 617-742-0054 x109

Natalie Volk
Communications Manager
Clean Air Task Force
nvolk@catf.us, 703-785-9580

BOSTON – A new report released today by Acadia Center and Clean Air Task Force (CATF) reveals that enhanced community engagement for clean energy infrastructure projects is critical to achieving New England’s 2050 decarbonization goals. The report highlights the opportunity to accelerate the region’s clean energy progress by addressing local concerns and better equipping communities to meaningfully participate in siting and approval processes. Drawing from prominent case studies around the region, the report also identifies promising options for developers, communities, and policymakers to improve project planning and engagement, helping reduce the risk of failures, legal challenges, and delays. Without comprehensive reforms to improve community engagement processes and modernize siting and permitting policies, the region’s clean energy transition risks significant delays and setbacks.

“Our research shows that when community concerns are not taken seriously, community opposition and distrust can grow, leading to extended project timelines, higher costs, and resistance to future clean energy projects,” said Nicole Pavia, Director of Clean Energy Infrastructure Deployment at CATF. “Whether it’s rural, urban, or suburban communities, community engagement isn’t just a box to check — it’s an essential part of New England’s clean energy future. When communities are meaningfully engaged, we see stronger projects that deliver clean energy benefits while fostering trust, local economic growth, and long-term support for future projects.”    

The report includes a comprehensive review of five key studies outlining cost-effective, electrification-focused pathways to decarbonizing New England’s grid and energy systems. The scenarios analyzed reveal that in the 2030s, peak demand for electricity in the region will shift from summer to winter. By 2050, peak demand for electricity is expected to double from 27 gigawatts (GW) to 55 GW, driven largely by the electrification of vehicles and proliferation of heat pumps. To meet the demands of the energy transition, generation capacity in the region will need to more than triple from 43 GW to 145 GW of installed capacity on average, led by increases in solar and offshore wind and aided by transmission system enhancements. Additionally, the report analyzes the diverse portfolio of energy technologies and approaches needed for the future grid – from transmission and generation to energy storage and demand-side resources such as energy efficiency and load flexibility – to maintain reliability, affordability, and resiliency.

“The energy transition will touch all 1,300+ communities in New England, and the region needs a new paradigm for infrastructure siting and engagement that gives those communities a meaningful voice even as the build-out of renewable energy and grid infrastructure accelerates,” said Jamie Dickerson, Senior Director, Climate and Clean Energy Programs at Acadia Center. “The region’s communities and people are at the center of its energy transition just as much as the grid itself is, underscoring the imperative of delivering real community benefits and shifting the environment of engagement toward a virtuous cycle of improved social standing and acceptance.”

The report also examines the challenges and friction points that often hinder positive clean energy development and shape communities’ posture as potential hosts for clean energy projects. Through interviews with stakeholders representing a range of interests – renewable energy developers, state regulators, local community leaders, and more – the report offers a behind-the-scenes look at the real-world factors influencing community support and responses. Case studies highlight key siting and engagement examples in the region, including:

• Vineyard Wind in Massachusetts
• King Pine Wind and Aroostook Renewable Gateway in Maine
• East Eagle Substation and Cranberry Point Energy Storage in Massachusetts
• Johnston Winsor Solar III in Rhode Island
• Twin States Clean Energy Link transmission line between New Hampshire and Vermont

The report outlines actionable options and opportunities state and local governments, project developers, and community stakeholders may take to improve public support for and expedite the deployment of clean energy infrastructure with impactful community benefits. These options are coming into clearer focus as some states in the region have very recently considered and enacted reforms to state siting and permitting laws in 2024, including most notably in Connecticut and in Massachusetts, where lawmakers passed a wide-ranging climate bill anchored around a significant overhaul of the state’s siting and permitting framework.

As these states and the New England region transitions away from fossil fuels to a decarbonized grid, success will depend on active and meaningful community engagement. Without local buy-in, critical clean energy projects will continue to face significant headwinds and delays, putting the region’s climate goals at risk.

On December 5, Acadia Center and CATF will host a webinar to discuss key findings from the report. Read the full report here and register here.

About Acadia Center 

Acadia Center is a non-profit organization with over 25 years of experience dedicated to advancing transformative clean energy solutions that promote a livable climate and a more equitable economy in the Northeast United States and beyond. Through rigorous data analysis and strategic partnerships, Acadia Center advocates for policies that significantly reduce carbon emissions and address systemic energy challenges. By collaborating with governments, industries, and communities, Acadia Center’s bold strategies help to ensure an inclusive and sustainable energy future for all.

About Clean Air Task Force

Clean Air Task Force (CATF) is a global nonprofit organization working to safeguard against the worst impacts of climate change by catalyzing the rapid development and deployment of low-carbon energy and other climate protection technologies. With 25 years of internationally recognized expertise on climate policy and a fierce commitment to exploring all potential solutions, CATF is a pragmatic, nonideological advocacy group with the bold ideas needed to address climate change. CATF has offices in Boston, Washington D.C., and Brussels, with staff working remotely around the world.

New England states’ renewable energy push blasted as too costly by free-market advocates

Conservative think tanks in New England are taking aim at state energy policies that promote zero-carbon energy to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

“The Staggering Costs of New England’s Green Energy Policies,” a report released Tuesday by the Denver-based organization Always On Energy Research, and signed onto by free-market advocacy groups in New England, says ratepayers’ bills will double, to $4,610 by 2050, as a result of state policies, or “mandates,” to promote green energy.

Environmental advocates blasted the report, calling it inaccurate and misleading. The Acadia Center, a climate and clean energy advocacy group, said the report “overlooks enormous costs borne by ratepayers under today’s fossil grid.”

The Acadia Center acknowledged the costs of shifting to zero-carbon energy. “Let’s be candid: There will be significant costs from the energy transition (and significant benefits as well),” it said.

But economic growth as carbon emissions decline “belies the canard that New England state climate policies spell doom for the regional economy,” the Acadia Center said.

The report “ignores the impossibly high cost of business-as-usual,” it said. New Englanders withdraw billions of dollars from the region’s economy each year to purchase fossil fuels sourced outside New England. Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine spend $8.2 billion annually importing fossil fuels, the Acadia Center said.

In addition, the cost of ignoring climate-driven storms, heat waves, flooding and other disasters is the loss of human life and billions of dollars in property damage, it said.

To read the full article from the Portland Press Herald, click here.

New report claims New England emissions goals may mean higher electricity costs

MANCHESTER, N.H. — A report from a group of conservative and free market New England think tanks warns that increased use of wind and solar energy could lead to increased electricity costs and rolling blackouts in the region.

The nonprofit Acadia Center, which is focused on clean energy solutions, is rebutting the report, saying it fails to withstand “basic analytical scrutiny.”

To read the full article from WMUR, click here.

Report warns of huge costs from green energy mandates in New England, but critics cry foul

A new report commissioned by seven conservative-leaning organizations and free-market think tanks paints Massachusetts’ and New England’s devotion to renewable energy as failed policy that will cost residents more than $815 billion, won’t meet electricity demand, and result in rolling blackouts.

The nonprofit Acadia Center, which is focused on cutting carbon emissions, said the report presents a “deeply flawed analysis” and a “distorted view of the region’s future energy outlook.”

Job growth from renewable projects that end the region’s reliance on spending billions to import fossil fuels, along with the steep cost of rebuilding areas after natural disasters due to climate change, are reasons cited by the Acadia Center to support a renewable-energy path.

The transition will be expensive, said Acadia, but “using intentionally misleading information to fearmonger on behalf of the fossil fuel industry and advance its interests does not serve the best interests of New England ratepayers.”

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