Energy + Environment
Utilities commission: Liberty cannot recoup Granite Bridge costs from ratepayers
The Public Utilities Commission has rejected Liberty Utilities’ bid to recoup $7.5 million related to Granite Bridge, a pipeline project that never ended up happening. Liberty has 30 days from when the Oct. 29 decision was issued to appeal. The utility’s attempt to recover its costs drew pushback from the consumer advocate, who said the […]
‘It essentially dismantles all of the progress’: Energy efficiency decision sends a chill
Energy efficiency programs in New Hampshire are in for a big change if a decision issued by the Public Utilities Commission late Friday is enacted. In that decision, the commission rejected an energy efficiency plan to increase spending and then took it a step further, slashing funding for energy efficiency over the next two years […]
Supporters of offshore wind fear New Hampshire is blowing a big opportunity
Drought. Flooding. Extreme rain. Warmer winters. Less snowpack. The impacts of climate change have already touched the northeastern corner of the United States, just as they are being felt in different ways across the country and planet. With world leaders having departed COP26, a massive international conference in Glasgow that set goals for tackling this […]
Utilities commission rejects energy efficiency plan
Following a 10-month delay on a plan designed to go into effect at the start of the year, the Public Utilities Commission has denied what would have been the state’s most ambitious triennial energy efficiency plan to date. That plan proposed spending over $350 million on energy efficiency over the next three years. All of […]
Committee votes to recommend bill creating renewable portfolio standard exemption
The House Ways and Means Committee has given the green light to a bill that would exempt state and local governments, including cities and towns, from paying into what’s called the renewable portfolio standard. The “ought to pass” recommendation on Wednesday for House Bill 614, which was retained last session, followed a a flurry of […]
Goldner confirmed as chairman of utilities commission
Dan Goldner was confirmed as the new chairman of the Public Utilities Commission in a 4-1 vote by the Executive Council on Wednesday. Carleton Simpson, who worked most recently as a lawyer for Unitil, one of the state’s electric utilities, was also confirmed, 5-0, to serve as a commissioner. Cinde Warmington, a Democrat, was the […]
Biden calls for ‘decade of action’ on climate, apologizes for Trump exit from Paris Agreement
President Joe Biden urged the international community on Monday to transition to clean energy, curb greenhouse gas emissions, including methane, and help developing nations adapt to a changing climate. Speaking at a pivotal United Nations climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, Biden said worsening wildfires and once-in-a-century storms hitting every few years show that there’s only […]
Americans in climate-threatened regions eager for solutions from world summit
Flooded beach towns will be abandoned along millions of miles of coastlines. Islands will be inundated. It has already begun. Heat will become so oppressive that field workers can’t endure it and crops fail. It’s already happening. Huge wildfires will scorch millions of acres and spew toxic smoke plumes across swaths of the planet. Astronauts […]
No climate deal for Biden as he joins global allies at critical UN conference
President Joe Biden will arrive at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, without new federal programs in hand to fight climate change, after Democrats in Congress failed to reach an agreement to pass his revised $1.75 trillion spending plan. But environmental advocates say they haven’t given up and praised the new proposal […]
Latest version of energy efficiency bill recommended by House committee along party lines
The House Science, Technology, and Energy Committee voted along party lines to recommend advancing a bill that could determine the future of energy efficiency programming in the state. The state’s energy efficiency program has been racked with uncertainty this year, after the Public Utilities Commission failed to approve a three-year energy efficiency plan that was […]
The debate on greenhouse gas emissions: Science is clear, but political path forward isn’t
On Tuesday, a group of lawmakers had a heated debate over a bill that would establish goals for the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create a climate action plan. New Hampshire is the only New England state that hasn’t established a goal for reducing emissions, which is a problem, according to some environmental […]
The dismal heating season ahead: lower temperatures and higher prices
This article has been updated on Oct. 28, 2021 at 9:53 a.m. to clarify that colder temperatures are predicted for much of the U.S., while the prediction for New Hampshire is a more mild winter. Get ready for the rate shock. That’s what almost everyone who is paying attention to the price of heating fuels […]