Full Title: Making Clean Energy Decisions in New England
Author(s): Applied Economics Clinic
Publisher(s): Bryndis Woods, Sachin Peddada, Eliandro Tavares, Elisabeth Seliga, Myisha Majumder
Publication Date: April 26, 2022
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
On behalf of Community Action Works, AEC staff developed a report that identifies and examines six on-going clean energy and energy justice advocacy campaigns in New England. AEC profiles and assesses each campaign to determine which decision makers possess the authority to act on the advocates’ goals. These six campaigns include opposition to the proposed peaker plant in Peabody, MA; continued operation of New England’s last coal-fired power plant in Bow, New Hampshire; three existing peaker plants in Berkshire County, MA; a proposed gas-fired power plant in Killingly, CT; a proposed gas pipeline between Longmeadow and Springfield, MA; and an approved electric substation in East Boston awaiting construction. In addition to profiling each project, the report clarifies the key role the Independent System Operator of New England (ISO-NE), governors, and state legislatures play in developing New England’s energy mix.
Across all six campaigns, we find that advocates have more opportunities to pursue their goals while a project is still in its proposal phase; it becomes more challenging to shut down an energy project once it is operational. In addition, we recommend changes at ISO-NE that have the potential to render many polluting New England energy projects less competitive.