Electric vehicles and heat pumps are key to achieving significant emissions reductions
Preface from Larry Chretien, Executive Director:
Readers of this blog should be aware that we are enthusiastic supporters of electric vehicles and air-source heat pumps. Costs of these products have come down in recent years while quality has gone up. We see them as economically sensible ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to the point that we see them as essential parts of any climate action plan. That would mean for a plan for Massachusetts, Rhode Island, any other state, your city or town, and your family. In our work, we are lucky to come in contact with experts who have figured all this out and who are kind enough to explain their findings to the rest of us. So please enjoy this blog from our guest, Patrick Knight of Synapse Energy Economics.
Save Energy: Update Your Heating Equipment
If your heating system leaves your home too cold or burns too much fuel, it might be time to look into an upgrade. Consumers in both Massachusetts and Rhode Island should pay close attention to incentives being offered by utilities. Gas and oil prices have been low the last couple of years, which makes now a good time to invest some of your fuel savings into making your home more efficient. The payoff will be big when fuel prices rebound (not if, when). Read on to learn more about the incentives and rebates in your state.
Solar Panels, SRECs, Double-counting, Oh My!
Thanks to New England’s relatively strong solar policies, many of our members have gone solar – by owning panels, leasing panels, or participating in community solar programs. To those of you who have gone solar – congrats! However, even though you’re generating solar power, you’re probably not consuming the solar power you generate. In other words, even if you have solar panels or are participating in community solar, you cannot necessarily make the claim that you’ve reduced your personal greenhouse gas emissions as a result.
New Program and Added Incentives: Mass Energy’s Greater Boston Heat Pump Program Launches!
After a successful pilot program in the Pioneer Valley and a survey of interest to our members, Mass Energy has decided to run our new heat pump program in the Greater Boston area. It will cover 80 cities and towns.
Taxing Electricity to Pay for a Gas Pipeline Makes No Sense
On February 25, the Mass. Department of Public Utilities (DPU) held a public hearing on a petition filed by Eversource that permits the company to charge electricity ratepayers for a 20 year contract to source fracked gas from New York and Pennsylvania. The gas would come to Massachusetts through the proposed Access Northeast gas pipeline. This is the first of three such cases. National Grid has filed a similar petition with the DPU and is seeking permission to charge its electricity ratepayers for the Access Northeast and Northeast Energy Direct gas pipelines.
Why 2016 Is the Time to Buy an Electric Vehicle
2016 is the time to buy an electric vehicle. Why? Technology has made huge advances, costs have come down, and federal and state policies will help support your purchase. And if we want to meet our greenhouse gas emission goals, we need to electrify our transportation as quick as we can.
Having Our Cake and Eating It Too: How to use your heating oil savings wisely
Updated: August 10, 2017.
Compared to many years ago, the last few heating seasons have shown moderate prices and very little fluctuations. According to the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA), the inventory of distillate oil (which covers heating oil and diesel fuel) is high. As a result, the likelihood of a price spike is quite low. However, the EIA does project a modest price increase of about 20 cents per gallon on average in the US between now and mid-winter.
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A Reality Check on the Massachusetts Clean Energy & Climate Plan
The Baker Administration just released its Clean Energy & Climate Plan (CECP) as required by the Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA). They claim that the Commonwealth is on pace to meet our GWSA requirement of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 25% by 2020 and that we will reach that number if certain things fall into place. It’s worth reading in full, but here’s a bit of a reality check.
Solar in the Ocean State: A Review of Rhode Island's Solar Incentives
2016 is looking good for solar in Rhode Island. People’s Power & Light (PP&L) is still looking into options to launch our own solar program, but in the meantime we want to share some resources that you can use to install solar this year.