News
Category:
Connecticut
"While I understand the concerns that this bill could take funding away from other sources of renewable energy, I believe that lower electricity rates will provide families much needed relief in their household budgets and improve the prospect of jobs going forward," Kelly said after the vote.
Also filed under [
Energy Policy]
State clean energy study changes look At hydropower and biomass
April 27, 2013 by Brian Dowling in The Hartford Courant
April 27, 2013 by Brian Dowling in The Hartford Courant
The state's energy department released a final version of its study recommending changes to how Connecticut supports clean energy Friday after weeks of public debate on the plan that initially blazed a wide path for large-scale hydropower to be included in the state's portfolio of renewables.
Also filed under [
Energy Policy]
High Court To Hear Wind Farm Project Case
April 15, 2013 by Jay Stapleton in Connecticut Law Tribune
April 15, 2013 by Jay Stapleton in Connecticut Law Tribune
A proposal to build Connecticut's first wind farm in the state's Northwest Corner has been blowing around for several years. Now an appeal brought by a citizens' group that opposes the project will be heard by the state Supreme Court in coming months.
The key question is whether the Connecticut Siting Council had jurisdiction when it approved the wind turbine electric generation project.
Also filed under [
Legal]
Nicholas J. Harding, a Hartford lawyer representing the group, Fairwindct, along with plaintiffs Michael and Stella Somers and Susan Wagner, said he filed a 60-page statement March 22.
The action follows a dismissal of their case by a New Britain Superior Court judge in October, and appeals subsequently filed in Appellate Court.
Also filed under [
General]
Proposed changes to Connecticut's RPS could be bad news for wind energy
March 21, 2013 in North American Windpower
March 21, 2013 in North American Windpower
That means large-scale hydropower could fulfill the requirement currently reserved for renewable energy resources like wind and solar. Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy already made it clear that wind power would not play a large role in efforts to meet the state's RPS. ...role in efforts to meet the state's RPS.
"In Connecticut, where we have limited in-state wind potential, and the New England region as a whole, high transmission costs are barriers to capturing the full potential of wind resources."
Also filed under [
Energy Policy]
State's new plan for renewables turns to large hydropower, away from biomass
March 20, 2013 by Brian Dowling in The Hartford Courant
March 20, 2013 by Brian Dowling in The Hartford Courant
The plan supports proposed changes to state laws governing how much of which type of energy the state should promote.
Ratepayers suffer when the state falls short of its renewable energy targets, as is expected this year, Esty said. The main reason: State incentives have gone to the wrong technologies, he said.
Also filed under [
Energy Policy]
Since large-scale hydro is cheaper than the average price of electricity in New England, the state could meet its renewable electricity goals while not relying on the more expensive power from technologies such as solar and fuel cells. T
Also filed under [
General]
Could wind power cool New England's price fever?
February 16, 2013 by Matthew L. Wald in New York Times
February 16, 2013 by Matthew L. Wald in New York Times
The underlying issue in New England is that gas pipeline capacity is inadequate to keep prices steady in times of high home heating demand, said Vamsi Chadalavada, executive vice president and chief operating officer of ISO New England. ISO is leading a study focused mainly on reliability, but reliability is intertwined with price, he said.
Dec. 17 court date set in Colebrook wind turbines appeal case
December 14, 2012 by Jason Siedzik in Litchfield County Times
December 14, 2012 by Jason Siedzik in Litchfield County Times
Ms. Hemingson also spoke out against the likely impact of wind energy in Connecticut at the Nov. 26 hearing on Governor Dannel Malloy’s energy plan in Torrington. The plan was criticized fo—as numerous oil company owners stated—tilting the field towards large natural gas companies, but Ms. Hemingson said that the plan itself acknowldges that “Connecticut has limited wind potential.”
Also filed under [
General]
Efficiency cutting New England power use, costs
December 13, 2012 by Stephen Singer in Associated Press
December 13, 2012 by Stephen Singer in Associated Press
Nationally, demand for electricity is leveling off as residential power use falls, experts say, reversing a long upward trend. More efficient lighting and electric devices are partly credited for the change. New homes also are being built to use less electricity and government subsidies ...help older homes use less power. Rourke said the weak economy also has contributed to reduced electricity use.
Energy efficiency has cut need for $260m worth of power-line upgrades
December 12, 2012 by David Brooks in Nashua Telegraph
December 12, 2012 by David Brooks in Nashua Telegraph
Energy-efficiency programs in the six New England states have proved so effective at reducing demand that we can put off building a quarter-billion dollars' worth of planned upgrades to electric transmission towers and lines, according to the agency that runs the region's power grid.
Also filed under [
Energy Policy|
Transmission]
Colebrook wind turbine plan approved, but battles go on
December 10, 2012 by Jason Siedzik in Register Citizen
December 10, 2012 by Jason Siedzik in Register Citizen
Nearly 18 months after the Connecticut Siting Council approved a pair of industrial wind turbines in Colebrook, the turbines have yet to see the light of day, as the main players in the battle over the turbines are still at work.
Also filed under [
General]
Malloy's energy plan sparks controversy
November 30, 2012 by Matthew Lloyd-Thomas in Yale Daily News
November 30, 2012 by Matthew Lloyd-Thomas in Yale Daily News
The heating oil industry is not the only group unhappy with the plan. Advocates for greater adoption of renewable energy sources, such as Fight the Hike, also spoke out at the forums, claiming that the plan made too little mention of energy alternatives such as wind and solar power.
Also filed under [
Energy Policy]
Connecticut considers Canadian hydropower; Energy strategy sees renewables goals
October 9, 2012 by Bill Opalka in RenewablesBiz
October 9, 2012 by Bill Opalka in RenewablesBiz
Connecticut already has renewable portfolio standard (RPS) of 20% and may seek to increase it. But to do that may require the inclusion of hydropower from Canada to meet that goal, an energy source not currently qualified as renewable under existing rules.
Also filed under [
Energy Policy]
Colebrook Wind Farm opponents lose, in a flawed system
October 3, 2012 by Dan Haar in Hartford Courant
October 3, 2012 by Dan Haar in Hartford Courant
Cohn, in New Britain Superior Court, rejected all of those arguments, though he did not deny that the turbines could have a real impact on life in Colebrook, for people and animals. Cohn cited precedents that he said required him to reject opponents' arguments because the siting council has wide leeway in making its rulings.
Also filed under [
General]
Connecticut Siting Council tackling regulations for future wind turbines
July 27, 2012 by Jason Siedzik in Register Citizen
July 27, 2012 by Jason Siedzik in Register Citizen
The lack of any existing regulations was one of the main reasons some Colebrook residents opposed the turbines. But the proposed regulations before the Connecticut Siting Council stoked the fires of further opposition, thanks in large part to the setback requirements in the proposal. According to the proposed regulations, turbines need to be at least 1.1 times the turbine's height from any property lines.
Also filed under [
General]
The Connecticut Siting Council, which has sole jurisdiction over renewable energy projects that propose to generate more than 1 megawatt of power, has drafted a set of regulations for wind turbines.
The regulations are an outgrowth of reviewing two applications from BNE Energy, Inc., which proposed installing two wind turbines in Prospect and six in Colebrook.
Also filed under [
Energy Policy|
Zoning/Planning]
Connecticut and Massachusetts negotiated agreements with the two companies that set the stage for regulatory approval. In Massachusetts, Northeast Utilities and NStar agreed to buy more than a quarter of the power that would be produced by the proposed Cape Wind offshore wind farm as a condition of the deal.
Also filed under [
Energy Policy|
Massachusetts]
Final hurdle cleared: Massachusetts regulators approve NU-NSTAR merger
April 4, 2012 by Janice Podsada in The Hartford Courant
April 4, 2012 by Janice Podsada in The Hartford Courant
Also filed under [
General|
Massachusetts]
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