News Archives - Fix the Grid

Industry News Highlights

admin — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 16:41:54 +0000

Between July 2022 and September 2024, Bob Persons wrote a biweekly digest of industry news for Fix the Grid members. Thank you, Bob! This is the link to the archive for his Fix the Grid Technical Group Industry News Digest.

Bob recommends the following sources for industry news going forward. All of them allow for email subscriptions.

John Kemp’s daily Best in Energy: An interesting big-picture source, particularly from the financial perspective.

Northeast Energy News: It draws from a multitude of local and regional sources.

Utility Dive: Reporters have inside connections to FERC and all U.S. regional transmission organizations including ISO-NE. Comprehensive resource.

The post Industry News Highlights appeared first on Fix the Grid.

Managing peak demand during summer heat:

admin — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 17:37:46 +0000

For those who are interested in resources related to shaving the peak (and hopefully avoiding having to turn on our most polluting power plants in overly impacted communities), check out these options:- Green Energy Consumers’ Alliance Shave the Peak notifications

– Metropolitan Area Planning Council peak demand notification program (more specifically for Boston metro area but still generally applies elsewhere)

The post Managing peak demand during summer heat: appeared first on Fix the Grid.

Federal Department of Energy engagement:

admin — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 17:12:18 +0000

The DOE has an Office of Community Engagement, and they are hosting office hours to answer questions and point folks toward resources. More details about upcoming sessions:

–Wednesday, July 24, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. (EDT) the 48e Bonus Low Income Tax Credit

–Wednesday, August 7, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. (EDT) the Weatherization Assistance Program and the Enhancement and Innovation Grant

Please register for the upcoming sessions and share information about these sessions with anyone in your network who you believe will benefit from engaging with the DOE. Meeting Registration – Zoom (zoomgov.com) OR https://www.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJItcO2vrDwpGhHrhYNWvquwIlzPs_bWp6U#/registration

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

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“Climate Resilience Playbook” – Help Shape It! (MA-specific)

admin — Tue, 14 May 2024 15:34:42 +0000

The Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program, Metropolitan Area Planning Council, and Pioneer Valley Planning Commission are developing a “Climate Resilience Playbook” (Expected Spring 2025). Do you work for a local government, community-based organization, community health center, or another group contributing to local resilience initiatives? Help them understand your resilience priorities, challenges, and resource needs! Help Shape the Climate Resilience Playbook. Please click here.

The post “Climate Resilience Playbook” – Help Shape It! (MA-specific) appeared first on Fix the Grid.

Calling all Fix The Grid Committees

admin — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 18:46:32 +0000

The FTG Digital Presence Committee is responsible for the FTG website https://fix-the-grid.org/ and social media presence via Facebook https://www.facebook.com/FixtheGridNE/. We support the mission of FTG by bringing our message and extending our reach within our own community and to the public at large. In order to make our sites more dynamic and informative, we’re looking for FTG members and their committees to energize our blog feed. Think of this as an opportunity for you and/or your committee to reach out to other members of FTG, make your opinions known, bring attention to news and articles of importance, recruit more members and participants, and build momentum towards our goal of a fossil-free electrical grid that provides justice for all.

With support from Mireille, we are asking all active subcommittees within Fix the Grid to give regular updates on your activities through our Fix-the-Grid blog. At our monthly FTG meetings, we will discuss a schedule for those updates. We are happy to provide editorial support. To make contributions, you may contact any of these committee members directly—Ron Smoller (dlanors@gmail.com), Sudi Smoller (susan.smoller@gmail.com), Kent Wittenburg (kentwitt@gmail.com), or Mireille Bejjani (mireille@slingshot.org)—or else use this form.

Thank you!

The post Calling all Fix The Grid Committees appeared first on Fix the Grid.

TAKING BACK OUR ENERGY GRID

Monte Pearson — Sat, 04 Nov 2023 05:24:00 +0000

A rally and theatrical battle occurred on Wednesday, Nov. 1 at the South Boston
Maritime Park, barely a skip and hop from the only public meeting held by the
ISO-NE board of directors this year. Their meeting took place at the Seaport Hotel
in South Boston, just a few feet above the harbor water that will fill the area in the
next decade or so. The participants wanted to tell the world that ISO-NE, our grid
operator, is subservient to the fossil fuel industry, and needs to be liberated.
350 Mass’s Climate Courage, Fix the Grid and Third Act held the event to send a
clear message to ISO-NE, the governor, and the people of this region. We are
calling for the agency to throw off the shackles of fossil fuels and shift its mission
and governance to one that offers clean, safe, and renewable energy. We want ISO
to be administered by and for the people of New England.
The rally brought together the forces of a green future represented by humans with
(human sized) wind turbines and suns, ready to do battle with skeletons, grim
reapers, and men in suits (representing the ISO board and local utilities). We heard
a supportive statement from a representative of Senator Ed Markey and sang with
our own 350 Mass folk band.
The rival teams then marched down Congress Street and battled in the crosswalk
next to the Seaport Hotel. As they wrestled for the future of the earth, there were
many encouraging, loving, and money-grubbing chants to fortify each side.

The Battle comes to a climax

The Band at Seaport Rally

Steve and Wind Turbine vs. Gas

Katherine gives us the word from Senator Markey

Group Singing at Rally at Seaport

Fossil Fuels and Money go Walking Together

The post TAKING BACK OUR ENERGY GRID appeared first on Fix the Grid.

Job Posting:

admin — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 17:49:55 +0000

The MA Office of Federal and Regional Affairs (within the Office of Energy and Env Affairs) is hiring a new director position. You can take a look at the job listing here.

The post Job Posting: appeared first on Fix the Grid.

How Do Electric Grid Operators Warn Us About Extreme Heat?

admin — Wed, 27 Sep 2023 16:42:37 +0000

9/7/23 UCS (Union of Concerned Scientists) post by Tasnima Naoshin. Explains clearly the levels of alert the major U.S. RTOs (Regional Transmission Organizations, like ISO-NE) recognize in response to weather and other events, which stakeholders the RTOs notify, and whether and how some RTOs ask ratepayers to briefly and voluntarily reduce demand during peaks. ISO-NE does not yet alert the public, so we rely on three ad hoc sources: Green Energy Consumer Alliance’s Shave the Peak program, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, and the recently-formed Signal channel Peak Shavers United (email Nathan Philips for details on PSU).

The post How Do Electric Grid Operators Warn Us About Extreme Heat? appeared first on Fix the Grid.

ISO-NE weighs new executive position on Environmental Justice

admin — Fri, 11 Aug 2023 15:57:23 +0000

You may have seen in the news last week that 5 of the 6 states in our region sent a letter to ISO-NE asking the grid operator to establish an executive-level position focused on Environmental Justice! This is a very exciting development, directly in line with our campaign priorities. We’re in close communication with MA leaders about this, and will be working on compiling a list of qualified candidates for the role if the position is created. So start brainstorming, and let us know if you have suggestions for incredible EJ leaders!

Here are a few links to the news stories about the request:

– WBUR

– Energy News Network

The post ISO-NE weighs new executive position on Environmental Justice appeared first on Fix the Grid.

New FERC Rules for Speeding up Grid Connections

Kent Wittenburg — Sun, 30 Jul 2023 19:02:19 +0000

FERC has responded to the serious backlog for connecting to the grid that is due in part by policies that give priority to first-to-file resources, even when other resources may be ready sooner and larger planning concerns should predominate. There have been problems with cost allocation as well. A May talk sponsored by the FTG Technical Committee examined these issues from the point of view of solar energy providers in New England. As explained in this Utility Dive post, this recent FERC ruling is good news for speeding up connections from renewables, but more needs to be done.

For more industry news summaries from the Technical Committee, see Bob Person’s Resource Digest. The latest entries also include news of a solar PV concern challenging the special treatment given to MA wind and hydro projects, an analysis of reliability factors for various generation sources, the cancellation of Avangrid’s contract for offshore wind, and more data on the unreliability of natural gas.

The post New FERC Rules for Speeding up Grid Connections appeared first on Fix the Grid.