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

Why Buying New England Class I RECs is the Only Way to Make the Switch

The average home uses electricity all day long and most of us don’t even think about it. You may have heard that you can use your energy dollar to demand 100% clean renewable electricity instead of your utility’s dirty resource mix. Programs aimed at helping you green up the grid are numerous in this country, but many don’t deliver the intended results. However, in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, there is one way to ensure that your green power payments are making a difference:  by purchasing Class I or “new” Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs).

The subject matter in this blog is still relevant in 2019, but for a more current blog on the same topic, click here.

What's a Heat Pump and How Can it Reduce My Oil or Gas Usage?

What is a heat pump?

Heat pumps are a heating technology that can be installed in a room (or several rooms) in your home and move heat into or out of a space. A heat pump can both HEAT and COOL the air in your home. A heat pump can also be used to heat water.

Chances are you already have a heat pump in your home! Refrigerators and air conditioners use heat pumps to cool. It sounds strange to use a “heat” pump to cool, but your refrigerator or air conditioner is actually pulling the heat out of the space you want to keep cool and putting it somewhere else. When you use a heat pump for heat, it’s like running your refrigerator or air conditioner in reverse!

Are there different types of heat pumps?

Yes! All heat pumps move heat, but that heat can come from different sources. Heat pumps can use the temperatures of either the outdoor air or the ground to heat or cool homes or buildings. Heat pumps that utilize outside air are known as "air-source heat pumps." Heat pumps that use the nearly constant temperature underground are known as "ground-source heat pumps." Ground-source heat pumps require a trench or well to operate. Air sour

ReNewable Now: Hydro, Going Strong at the Birthplace of America's Industrial Revolution

Guest blog originally posted on ReNewable Now's website about our tour of the Pawtucket Hydro Facility on Nov 7, 2015.

Timmons Roberts: The greenest thing to do

Guest blog originally posted in the Providence Journal on Nov. 13, 2015.

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Last summer, I took about five minutes and switched my electricity from National Grid’s regular plan to a group called People’s Power and Light, which sources electricity from all renewables here in our own region. In those five minutes, I did more to combat climate change than perhaps anything else I do.

A New Bio-Heat Program: Heat Leaner & Cleaner with Biodiesel

Today, People’s Power & Light (PP&L) and Mass Energy are excited to reinvigorate our Bio-Heat program. Joined recently by Newport Biodiesel, our program provides members in certain areas of Massachusetts and Rhode Island with a cleaner fuel option: biodiesel.

We have offered biodiesel options in Massachusetts for some time, launching our original Bio-Heat program in 2005. But over the years, the program has not grown much—until today.

Being positive about negative Texas wind prices

In September, it was reported that wholesale electricity prices in Texas were negative during some evenings, largely a result of high wind production.  Wind makes up a higher percentage of Texas’ energy mix than in New England, but we want to see more wind here.  So what does it mean that there were negative electricity prices?  To get a good answer, we asked our expert friends at the Cambridge-based Synapse Energy Economics. 

SustainPVD: New Plan, Big Potential for Providence Sustainability

The City of Providence is actively improving a plan to become more sustainable in several sectors, and PP&L is thrilled that the recent topic for open review was energy. The “Sustainable Providence” plan was spearheaded by the Office of Sustainability and the Environmental Sustainability Task Force. The old plan is being revitalized as “SustainPVD” by Mayor Jorge Elorza and new Sustainability Director Leah Bamberger. The revision process is open to the public and all interested are encouraged to engage in the development. 

Why I voted against the Massachusetts Energy Efficiency Three Year Plan

In Massachusetts, three-year plans for energy efficiency are developed by the utilities with input and oversight from the Energy Efficiency Advisory Council (EEAC). Right now, the next plan’s final draft is filed with the MA Department of Public Utilities for approval, accompanied by a recommendation from the Council. As a member of the EEAC, representing the Mass. Nonprofit Network, I was the sole vote on October 26 against the plan for 2016-2018. This post will explain why.

Another Year of Clean Energy Success: Mass Energy's 33rd Annual Meeting

On Wednesday, October 21^st 2015, Mass Energy celebrated 33 years of working to make energy more affordable and environmentally sustainable.

Those who attended the meeting will remember Executive Director Larry Chretien’s reference to Mass Energy as being akin to the “platypus of the animal kingdom”— highlighting Mass Energy’s unique structure as a non-profit run like a business. Larry referred to Mass Energy as a “social business”, composed of people who understand that there is more than one way of making energy more affordable and environmentally sustainable.

Massachusetts’ Three Year Energy Efficiency Plan Update: Where will the country’s most efficient state take EE next?

The Massachusetts Green Communities Act (GCA) requires investor-owned gas and electric utilities to capture all efficiency and demand reduction resources that are less expensive than supply. Proposed savings through efficiency are detailed in what is referred to as Three Year Efficiency Plans (3YP). The plan for 2016-2018 has been in development for the last ten months. The utilities released their most current draft plan on September 23^rd and the Energy Efficiency Advisory Council (EEAC), a group of appointees tasked with overseeing plan development, has yet to approve what has been proposed or to make its recommendation to the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) regarding plan approval.