www.windaction.org

Can Plymouth wind turbines spin savings in Wareham?
March 12, 2013 by Caitlin Flaherty in Wicked Local Wareham

There is a 10-megawatt cap of net-metering credits per town as regulated by the state, but the town of Marion does not need to use all of its megawatts. Therefore, Wareham would be able to purchase power from Marion, a host customer, at a discounted price.

Could wind power cool New England's price fever?
February 16, 2013 by Matthew L. Wald in New York Times

Also filed under [ Connecticut| Maine| New Hampshire| Rhode Island| Vermont]

Witness says ARC turbine would devalue property
January 16, 2013 by Cynthia Mccormick in Cape Cod Times

"Old King's Highway is about views and vistas as well as paint chips and shingle colors," she said. "I felt ARC had other options where to put the turbines." Austin said as the appellant she represents 92 people from Dennis and Yarmouth who formed an organization called Save Our Beaches in opposition to the proposed turbine.

Also filed under [ Property Values]

New data send turbine options group back to work
January 15, 2013 by Sean Teehan in Cape Cod Times

The postponement came in the wake of Tuesday's meeting, at which panel members were told that figures used to calculate the financial benefits of leaving the turbines running without curtailment were based on faulty methodology. New studies found that Wind 1 generates more power than previous tests have shown, according to Tony Rogers of DNV KEMA Energy & Sustainability, an expert employed to study the turbine's power generation.

Also filed under [ Noise]

Wind-energy project boosts prices for Princeton Municipal Light Department
June 21, 2012 by Michael Hartwell in Sentinel & Enterprise

Allen, who came on board in October, said the trouble started in 2006 when the department decided to invest in two windmills. At that point, the department had zero debt and took out a $7.3 million mortgage for the project. ...The two windmills went online in January 2010 and the gear box in the southern unit broke in August 2011 and is still offline.

Devens clean energy company cuts more jobs
November 29, 2011 in Boston Herald

AMSC, the Devens-based maker of electrical systems for wind turbines, said it has slashed its staff by 20 percent, or about 100 jobs, as it tries to return to profitability after a string of setbacks."

Martha Coakley: ‘Green' act costs $4B
November 10, 2011 by Greg Turner in Boston Herald

"We believe that more effort should be made to expose the true costs of energy, including costs that are often hidden as subsidies," Attorney General Martha Coakley said at the start of a broad legislative inquiry into the Green Communities Act of 2008.

Mass. OKs utility deals to buy wind power
August 19, 2011 by Associated Press in Worcester Telegram and Gazette

NStar has kept pricing on the three deals confidential, but analysts have estimated the power costs at about 9.4 cents per kilowatt hour. The three deals are fixed price contracts, meaning the price per kilowatt hour doesn't increase over time.

Power play over utility cos. merger
July 4, 2011 by Greg Turner in Boston Herald

State officials and Cape Wind supporters are keeping the pressure on Nstar, whose $4.6 billion merger with Northeast Utilities will be dissected in a series of make-or-break regulatory hearings starting tomorrow.

Also filed under [ General]

2 Mass. utilities make very different power deals
March 27, 2011 by Jay Lindsay in Associated Press

"Frankly, as a person who represents business, I find it insulting that they're using some little home owner (for comparison)," he said. "It ain't a $1.50 a month to our members." The 468-megawatt Cape Wind project will cost $2.62 billion to build, according a Massachusetts attorney general's office estimate.

Plant will shut after $58m in state aid
January 12, 2011 by Todd Wallack in Boston Globe

The Devens closing is a major hit to Governor Deval Patrick's efforts to make Massachusetts a hub of the emerging clean-energy industry. The administration persuaded Evergreen to build at Devens with a package of grants, land, loans, and other aid originally valued at $76 million. The company ended up taking about $58 million.

Also filed under [ Tax Breaks & Subsidies]

Deval Patrick's shift on turbine plans may hit power users like storm; Rate cap gone with wind
December 20, 2010 by Jay Fitzgerald in Boston Herald

A broken campaign pledge by Gov. Deval Patrick could end up costing Massachusetts ratepayers big bucks if yet another massive wind farm is built off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. When he first ran for governor in 2005, the then-relatively unknown Patrick broke out of the Democratic pack by endorsing the controversial Cape Wind project.

Also filed under [ Energy Policy]

Group challenges wind power deal
December 14, 2010 by Steve LeBlanc in Boston Globe

The 6,000-member Associated Industries of Massachusetts said in a statement yesterday that the Department of Public Utilities overstepped its powers and set a dangerous precedent for allowing utilities to negotiate agreements outside the competitive bidding process when it approved the deal last month.

Also filed under [ General]

AIM asks court to set aside approval of Grid/Cape Wind deal
December 13, 2010 by Robert Rio in Associated Industries of Massachusetts Blog

AIM will argue in its appeal that approval of the National Grid/Cape Wind deal by the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) was "arbitrary, capricious," an "abuse of discretion and not otherwise in accordance with the law." AIM believes the agreement sets a dangerous precedent for allowing utilities to negotiate expensive power agreements outside of the competitive bidding process and to allocate the costs of those contracts unfairly to commercial and industrial customers.

Also filed under [ Energy Policy]

Cape Wind power rate appealed
December 10, 2010 by Kyle Alspach in Mass High Tech

Two parties have filed an appeal with the state Supreme Judicial Court of the decision approving the rate for half of the power from Cape Wind. The Associated Industries of Massachusetts and the TransCanada Corp. have filed the appeal of the state Department of Public Utilities' November decision, said DPU executive director Tim Shevlin.

Cape Wind's big win; Critics slam costs as state OKs National Grid's electric deal
November 23, 2010 by Jay Fitzgerald in Boston Herald

"This decision will not only raise costs for our members, but also establishes a dangerous precedent of regulatory rubber-stamping of renewable energy contracts with absolutely no concern for the ratepayer," said Robert Rio, vice president at the Associated Industries of Massachusetts.

Also filed under [ Energy Policy]

Governor Patrick touts wind farm job benefits
October 13, 2010 in Martha's Vineyard Times

Gov. Deval Patrick on Wednesday pointed to jobs the project will produce, announcing that a company based in Middleborough will make the foundations for the giant wind turbines ...The announcement came as the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, released results of a poll where 70 percent of respondents, once apprised of the increase in electric bills associated with the project, said they opposed the project.

Business to get hit by Cape Wind
October 5, 2010 by Jay Fitzgerald in Boston Herald

"I used to look at Cape Wind and think, 'Oh, wind power. That's great,'" said Housen, whose firm is one of National Grid's largest customers. "I don't say that anymore. Cape Wind is going to cost us significantly more." To offset the increased expense, Housen said he'll probably have to pass along the increase to customers or delay hiring any new employees.

Cape Wind rates will whack businesses, hospitals, schools; Blown away by costs
October 4, 2010 by Jay Fitzgerald in Boston Herald

And experts say most of those costs will be passed on to the same consumers who, as rate- and taxpayers, will be paying for the cost of planting the turbines off Nantucket Sound - and footing higher energy bills once the project is running. "As they say, there are lies, damned lies and statistics," said energy analyst Robert McCullough. "This is a very expensive project."

Also filed under [ Tax Breaks & Subsidies]

Cape Wind energy prices high, not competitive with other green projects
October 4, 2010 in Providence Business News

National Grid estimated a small grocery store or medium-sized restaurant will see electric bills rise by about $100 per month. A typical supermarket will pay about $500 more while a medium-size suburban hospital would see a $2,500 jump in its bills. Large industrial businesses would get hit the hardest.

Also filed under [ Tax Breaks & Subsidies]

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