Green Energy Consumers policy coordinator Kai Salem speaks at a distanced rally for Act On Climate at the State House this April.

Last weekend, Governor McKee signed the 2021 Act On Climate. Now, Rhode Island has an exciting and urgent challenge ahead of it: meeting the binding climate goals set by this landmark legislation.

A priority for Green Energy Consumers Alliance is increasing New England’s clean energy supply while delivering lower costs to consumers. In both Massachusetts and Rhode Island, the following facts prevail about our  electricity supply options: 

New Incentive for Electric Trucks in Massachusetts

The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) recently announced that the popular rebate program for electric vehicles, MOR-EV, will now offer incentives for medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks too. This is great news for the climate and public health in Massachusetts. 

Last week was a huge step forward for climate action in New England. 

For the last two decades, the Toyota Camry has been the reigning champion of passenger cars in the Unites States. But behind the scenes, the Toyota RAV4 had been steadily gaining speed in the race for most popular car and finally took the top spot in 2019. The Toyota RAV4 sold nearly 450,000 cars with it's slow and steady approach. In the end, the Toyota Camry didn't just lose its top spot, it came in with a measly 337,000 models sold, snatching eighth place.

In the months since California Governor Gavin Newsom announced by executive order that the state would phase out the sale of gasoline-powered cars by 2035, the world has changed.  

Our hearts go out to Texans. The cold, snow, ice, power outages, and water shutoffs have gone way past inconvenient for people there. It’s caused death and misery.  Although we’re not experts on the Texas grid system as much as we are in New England, we’ve noticed a lot of confusion and deliberate misinformation surrounding the blackouts. 

The confusion about the power system is understandable; it's complicated and largely operates behind-the-scenes. It’s only until there’s a major crisis that we take a look behind the curtain. Unfortunately, the grid’s complexity makes it a ripe opportunity for the financially and politically motivated to spread “alternative facts.”  

In December 2020, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs filed its first draft of the 2030 Clean Energy & Climate Plan (CECP). The plan outlines specific strategies to ensure that the state’s carbon emission limit is met by 2030.

Although it's a good first draft, public comment and participation can steer the final draft to be even better. The deadline for submitting comments has been extended to March 22, 2021. In addition to the blogposts we've already written about the transportation and electricity sections of the CECP, we’ve submitted all of our feedback on the plan early, which you can read here. Here are our main takeaways.

In addition to our BIG DEAL panel on Phasing Out Gasoline later this month, we've got awesome webinars coming up on climate policy, installing solar, and electric cars. And they're all free!

• TCI 101: How to advocate for clean transportation in MA & RI: February 10th and 11th
• Electric Vehicles 101: February 10th
  
• Intro to EnergySage: Solar Made Easy: February 17th
• Solar Next Steps: Ask a Solar Coach: February 24th