Proposed Massachusetts air regulations target 80% decarbonization by 2050

Proposed Massachusetts air regulations target 80% decarbonization by 2050

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Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R)'s Department of Environmental Protection has issued a draft of new clean air regulations to address greenhouse gas emissions, seven months after the state's Supreme Court ruled it was not doing enough to cut them.

Under the proposal, utilities would be required to purchase generation credits from zero-carbon sources, starting at 16% in 2018 and increasing to 80% by 2050. Renewables, nuclear and fossil generation with carbon capture would be eligible for the Clean Energy Credits.

The Massachusetts Global Warming Solutions Act requires the state reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% from 1990 levels by 2050. Separate regulatory programs announced last week target emissions from vehicles and fossil fuel extraction and transport, along with the power sector rules.

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Comment by Long Islander on December 20, 2016 at 11:30am

The enemy would be coordinating a large letters to the editor campaign aimed at every Mass newspaper, telling the readers in Mass how they are harming their neighbors to the north. The way the people in Mass hear it from their media is that their purchase of wind electrons from Maine is something Mainers are thankful for.

Comment by Richard McDonald/Saving Maine on December 20, 2016 at 11:17am

Meeting their mandated RPS will drive demand regardless of their progress on emissions goals. Combined, it does not bode well for Maine. 

Comment by Eric A. Tuttle on December 20, 2016 at 11:12am

From the report: Pg 4 

Power Plant Emissions—GHG emissions from the use of electricity in Massachusetts have fallen dramatically since 1990, from 28 to 17 MMTCO2e in 2011, a drop of more than 37 percent (MassDEP 2013d) (see Figure 11). The decline of electricity generation by coal-fired power plants in Massachusetts is driving much of this decrease. Two coal-fired power plants have already shut-down some or all of their generating capacity.1 Additional GHG reductions from the closure of a third coal-fired plant are possible in 2017. In addition, Massachusetts led the way in securing an historic commitment by the nine RGGI states to lower the cap on power plant emissions from 165 million short tons per year to 91 million short tons per year in 2014, with an annual reduction of 2.5 percent each year through 2020.

They are over half way there with 30years remaining. Maybe their Solar initiatives should finish the rest and leave Maine alone.

Comment by Eric A. Tuttle on December 20, 2016 at 11:01am

1-6-14 Report Card (PDF download)

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Comment by Richard McDonald/Saving Maine on December 20, 2016 at 10:47am

This will drive demand for wind development for years. With VT's plan to opt-out and NH's limitations on development, Maine becomes the primary wind generation resource for New England. This will be devastating for Maine's landscape and eventually undermine any opportunity to develop a larger tourism industry in northern and eastern rural areas. Property values will decline, businesses will close and the small communities in our most distressed areas will be devastated.  

 

Maine as Third World Country:

CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power

 

Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.

Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT

******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********

(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/

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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law

Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future

"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."

https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/

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