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The transportation sector is the leading cause of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Massachusetts, and ACC2 is, by far, the most important policy for reducing those emissions.
A coalition of twelve environmental and clean energy organizations 1 , including Rewiring America, Acadia Center, Green Energy Consumers Alliance, Sierra Club, and Environmental Defense Fund, recently submitted a letter strongly supporting the Department of Public Utilities' (DPU) draft policy to end gas line extension allowances (LEAs)subsidies that (..)
In December, the Patrick Administration awarded grants and announced new investments in three programs to support alternative fuel vehicles and related infrastructure across Massachusetts, including the launch of an electric school bus pilot. million in Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality funds from the U.S. The grants are listed below.
Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Ian Bowles has set the statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions limit for 2020 required by the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2008 at 25% below 1990 levels, the maximum authorized by the Act, saying that measures already in place will get Massachusetts much of the way toward that goal.
On Wednesday, May 14, the energy committee in the Massachusetts legislature will hold a hearing on bills related to electric transportation including four bills that would push back or remove altogether the deadline to phase out new gas-powered cars in Massachusetts and weaken the primary tool we have to facilitate this transition.
On November 14 th the House and Senate passed Massachusetts’ latest climate law which is a compromise of bills passed by the two chambers earlier in the year.
A few weeks ago, we celebrated the passage of the 2024 climate bill in Massachusetts, An Act promoting a clean energy grid, advancing equity and protecting ratepayers , and wrote about its provisions related to reforming natural gas utilities, procuring battery storage, and siting and permitting.
All the participating jurisdictions are members of the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI), a regional collaboration of Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia that seeks to improve transportation, develop the clean energy economy, and reduce carbon emissions from the transportation sector.
This blog covers strategies outlined in Massachusetts’ final Clean Energy and Climate Plan (CECP) to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the buildings sector. million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents to Massachusetts’ emissions in 1990, or about 15% of total GHG emissions.
that commits their states to continued participation in a regional effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fuels for vehicles and other uses. The Commonwealth’s Clean Energy Biofuels Act, signed in July 2008, also required Massachusetts to seek an agreement with its fellow RGGI member states to implement a LCFS on a regional basis.
This blog covers strategies outlined in Massachusetts’ final Clean Energy and Climate Plan (CECP) to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the electric power sector. For more background on the CECP for 2025 and 2030, read this blog.
This blog covers strategies outlined in Massachusetts’ final Clean Energy and Climate Plan's (CECP) to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the transportation sector. For more background on the CECP for 2025 and 2030, read this blog.
And they are authorizing the Department of Public Utilities to regulate gas utilities in alignment with our climate mandates. They’re doing the right thing for consumers by banning retail electricity suppliers. They’re supporting EV adoption.
Utility-supplied natural gas (methane) is the primary heating fuel in both Massachusetts and Rhode Island, supplying 52% and 54% of homes, respectively. Given their mandates to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, both states are exploring strategies to transition away from their prevalent gas distribution systems.
s Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley electric school bus powered by Proterra electric vehicle technology ( earlier post ) and the Proterra 60kW charging system for deployment with the Beverly Public Schools, in Beverly, Massachusetts. Highland Electric Transportation has selected Thomas Built Buses Inc.’s
On June 30, 2022, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) released the final draft of the Clean Energy and Climate Plan (CECP) for 2025 and 2030.
Based on the interim results of a new study, MIT researchers are warning smaller nations to proceed with caution in pursuing the development of their natural gas resources. The interim report analyzed the economics of natural gas project development options in Cyprus with a focus on exports. —Sergey Paltsev. Click to enlarge.
(Rhode Islanders this is a story about Massachusetts, but it applies to the Ocean State just as well, given the Act on Climate.) Its jointly administered by the investor-owned gas and electric utilities and the Cape Light Compact. Mass Save is the Commonwealths major energy efficiency program.
Recent polling conducted by MassInc on behalf of Rewiring America and Green Energy Consumers Alliance shows strong public support for regulating gas utilities in ways that are compatible with the Commonwealth’s climate laws. The public also supports efforts aimed at switching from fossil fuel heating to electrification.
In our work, we pay close attention to the agencies regulating the electric and gas utilities. In Rhode Island, that’s the Public Utilities Commission (PUC); in Massachusetts, that’s the Department of Public Utilities (DPU). Both commissions have always had a big job – regulating what economists call "natural monopolies."
Per the Clean Energy & Climate Plan for 2025 and 2030 , Massachusetts must reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector 34% by 2030 for the economy as a whole to cut emissions in half compared to 1990. Though a promising start, there’s much more to be done.
On Monday, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released it s most recent report , which states in no uncertain terms that we need to increase the pace of greenhouse gas emissions reductions. To avoid the worst effects of climate change, the IP CC report said we must reduce carbon emissions by two thirds by 2035.
Through the Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA), Massachusetts is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions across the entire economy, including the transportation, electricity, and building sectors (45% by 2030 and net zero by 2050). The building sector, of course, includes about 73,000 public housing units in the Commonwealth.
The Massachusetts Senate made big news last week by passing a massive climate bill that tackles transportation, buildings, and our electricity supply. Here’s what this bill means for our efforts to phase out gasoline in Massachusetts – and the key next steps.
“Electric cars will not save the climate. Transportation accounts for only 27 percent of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in the U.S.; Behavioral change is hard How willing are people to break their car dependency and other energy-related behaviors to address climate change? The answer is perhaps some, but maybe not too much.
For purposes of this rule, fossil fuel-fired EGUs include utility boilers, IGCC units and certain natural gas-fired stationary combustion turbine EGUs that generate electricity for sale and are larger than 25 megawatts (MW). The proposed rulemaking establishes separate standards for natural gas and coal plants. Background.
Earlier this week, New Jersey officials announced plans to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. The steps we take today to lower emissions will improve air quality and mitigate climate impacts for generations to come, all while increasing access to cleaner car choices,” said Governor Phil Murphy. “The
An analysis of sediment cores from an Arctic lake indicates that biological and chemical changes occurring there are unprecedented over the past 200,000 years and likely are the result of human-caused climate change, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder. Tags: Climate Change. PNAS doi: 10.1073/pnas.0907094106.
Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, and the Chair of the California Air Resources Board, Mary Nichols, today signed a new cooperation agreement to advance cleaner vehicles and fuels. The transportation sector is the source of nearly a quarter of Canada’s carbon emissions and more than 40% of California’s.
According to the discussion document, DEP is considering these changes to align the CES with the greenhouse gas reduction requirements of the Clean Energy and Climate Plan and specific emission sublimit for the electricity sector.
There’s so much climate-related news right now that it’s hard to keep up: from the negotiations in Glasgow to the details of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and the still-to-be-determined future of the Build Back Better Act. We have to phase out gas-powered cars. We have to phase out gas-powered cars.
US President Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau jointly announced sweeping restrictions to offshore oil and gas leasing in the US and Canadian Arctic waters. Obama designated the vast majority of US waters in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas as indefinitely off limits to offshore oil and gas leasing.
Making the transition to cleaner, lower polluting near-zero and zero-emission vehicles is a critical component to addressing California’s clean air and climate challenges. The transportation sector accounts for about 40 percent of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. Institute of Gas Technology (1 mobile refueling station).
Washington, Oregon, Vermont, Massachusetts, and New York adopted the ACC II regulations in 2022. It helps solidify the state as a national climate leader. If adopted, the ACC II regulation would require automobile manufacturers to increase their zero-emission sales of light-duty vehicles to 100% by 2035.
Methane hydrates are ice-like structures with natural gas locked inside, which can be found both onshore and offshore—including under the Arctic permafrost and in ocean sediments along nearly every continental shelf in the world. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Earlier post.). The University of Texas at Austin.
Some politicians in Massachusetts and Rhode Island are calling on their state governments to reduce or eliminate the gas tax in response to rising prices since Russia invaded Ukraine a couple weeks ago. That’s an awful idea and political pandering at its worst.
Factors such as size, population density, available fuels, types of businesses, climate, all play a role in both total and per capita emissions, the EIA noted. California consistently imports about 30% of its electricity and natural gas is the dominant fuel for the electricity that it generates internally. Climate Change Emissions'
In Massachusetts, both the legislative and executive branches are considering a Clean Heat Standard (CHS) to reduce emissions in the building sector. As the state starts getting into specifics, one thing is clear: a good CHS would apply to gas, oil, and propane, not electricity.
Recently I was asked by the Boston Globe to write 350 words on why the Mass Save energy efficiency program should phase out rebates for new oil-fired systems for heat and hot water. Another writer took the opposite view and readers were invited to vote for their preferred argument.
Massachusetts and Rhode Island have both committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions economy-wide to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Achieving these required reductions means zeroing out emissions associated with heating our homes and businesses, which means phasing out the combustion of fossil fuels for heat.
ExxonMobil will invest $15 million as a leadership member of the University of Texas at Austin Energy Institute to pursue technologies to help meet growing energy demand while reducing environmental impacts and the risk of climate change. This research will complement ExxonMobil’s recently announced partnership with FuelCell Energy, Inc.
Massachusetts Republicans have joined with Democrats to set an example in emissions control By Mark Reburke: President, Drive Electric Cars New England. Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker. Putting the brake on regional pollution Also in December, Massachusetts, along with Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Washington D.C.,
AOI 05: Improved Efficiency of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Natural Gas and Propane (LPG) Engines. Development of a Heavy-Duty Direct-Injection Spark- Ignition Natural Gas Engine. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Gas Technology Institute. Colorado State University. Volvo Technology of America, LLC. Cummins Inc.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed the first Clean Air Act standard for CO 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from new power plants. Natural Gas Combined Cycle: 820 lbs CO 2 /MWh. According to the EPA, new natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) power plant units should be able to meet the proposed standard without add?on
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