The Energy Consumer's Bulletin- a New England energy news blog

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Mid-summer Observations About Shaving The Peak

The beginning of July marked record-breaking heat in Boston and Providence. These temperatures caused electricity demand to surge—known as peak...

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Renewable energy Rhode Island

Is it a good time to install solar in Rhode Island?

In March 2017, Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo announced a statewide initiative to increase the amount of clean energy by 10 times by 2020. That means that  Rhode Island is set to achieve a total of 1,000 MW by 2020.  Just in time for these important commitments, we're partnering with EnergySage to make it easier for everyone to install solar. Homeowners and business can contribute to the 1,000MW goal with smart investments in clean energy, like rooftop solar.

by Greg Ohadoma
Renewable energy

Boston’s Renewable Energy Play

Earlier this month, Boston's Mayor Walsh called for cities around the country to explore a group purchase of renewable energy, apparently for municipal buildings and streetlights. The hope is that a lot of purchasing power could support the construction of large-scale and low-cost clean energy. According to news accounts, the cities might jointly buy from one or more facilities that could be located anywhere in the U.S. Boston City Hall plans to finalize a list of partnering cities and issue a request for information to renewable energy developers late in the summer.

Picture of Larry Chretien Larry Chretien
Electricity and the grid Our programs

Introducing "Shave the Peak": A New Way to Green the Grid

At Green Energy Consumers, we talk a lot about the importance of energy efficiency and conservation. But, for a few hours every year, reducing our energy usage becomes especially important: on the hottest and coldest days of the year, energy use is the highest and electricity is dramatically more expensive and polluting. These high-demand days are called peak days, and we’re calling on our members to help us Shave the Peak by taking straightforward steps to reduce energy usage for a few hours on these days.

by Kai Salem
Renewable energy Electricity and the grid

More and more renewable energy comes with batteries included

For over a hundred years, the rap on electricity was that you could not store as usefully as you could store oil, gas, coal, and wood. That has made matching power supply with demand a challenge. More recently, we have been told by New England utilities and their ally, the so-called “Independent Operator of New England” (ISO-NE) that increasing amounts of wind and solar, intermittent resources, will make the challenge even harder.

Picture of Larry Chretien Larry Chretien
Energy policy & advocacy Electricity and the grid Rhode Island

Transforming the Power Sector in Rhode Island: Top Rate Settlement

How do we upgrade our electric grid to accommodate more renewables and reduce greenhouse gas emissions while ensuring affordability for all customers? This is a question PP&L and others in the energy community have been tackling through the ongoing electric and gas rate case proceedings at the Public Utilities Commission. In 2017 National Grid submitted a proposal to the Public Utilities Commission to increase gas and electric rates to maintain service reliability and upgrade the system. And now after several months, it appears that a consensus has been reached.

by Kat Burnham
Electric vehicles/Transportation

Electric car charging just got easier

Sabetti charging his Nissan LEAF at work

What's involved with charging an electric car? Just ask Doug Sabetti, a resident of Newport and founder of Newport Solar, a family owned and operated solar company. Last year he purchased an all-electric Nissan LEAF and enjoys carbon-free driving and sometimes free charging at electric car charging stations across Rhode Island.

by Gloria Kostadinova
Renewable energy

Big Step Forward for Offshore Wind

Massachusetts has selected Vineyard Wind to develop an 800-megawatt wind farm — about 100 turbines — in federal waters about 14 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. The project is expected to be completed in 2021. Not to be outdone, Rhode Island has chosen Deepwater Wind for a 400-megawatt project to be located south of Little Compton and is expected to be operating in 2023. The two states worked together on the procurement process, but chose different developers.

Picture of Loie Hayes Loie Hayes 
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Picture of Larry Chretien Larry Chretien
Renewable energy Our programs

Where are the new renewables coming from?

If you’ve looked at our local resources map recently you’ve noticed that Mass Energy/People’s Power & Light is now supporting more renewable energy sources than ever before. This has been made possible thanks to the contribution of our members who made the switch to green electricity, and to the commitment of seven (7) communities that wanted their electricity to come from local, clean energy resources and made it happen through a process called Green Municipal Aggregation.

by Yaima Braga