Alerts are posted on the New England power grid and natural gas prices are spiking again as another cold wave hits the region.
Jan Ellen Spiegel
Jan Ellen is CT Mirror's regular freelance Environment and Energy Reporter. As a freelance reporter, her stories have also appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Yale Climate Connections, and elsewhere. She is a former editor at The Hartford Courant, where she handled national politics including coverage of the controversial 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. She was an editor at the Gazette in Colorado Springs and spent more than 20 years as a TV and radio producer at CBS News and CNN in New York and in the Boston broadcast market. In 2013 she was the recipient of a Knight Journalism Fellowship at MIT on energy and climate. She graduated from the University of Michigan and attended Boston University’s graduate film program.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
As Esty exits, some worry, some hope
In fact many are concerned about his departure, worrying that no successor will have the breadth of expertise Esty had across energy and environmental subjects, and some fear a backsliding, especially in regional energy initiatives.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Murphy is in new Senate climate group
Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy is among a group of Democratic senators unveiling a climate change task force on Tuesday. Its goal, he said, is to combat what he called “Republican intransigence” on issues related to climate change.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Cold-caused power grid problems start to level off
Power usage on the New England grid leveled off a bit Wednesday as temperatures began to slowly rise. But prices were still running high – more than $300 a megawatt hour at times – as the Independent System Operator that manages the grid, ISO New England, continued to use more expensive oil- and coal-fired generation.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Frigid spell diverts natural gas from New England’s power grid
For the second time since Friday, frigid temperatures in New England are forcing a realignment of how natural gas is used to power the region -– a renewed reminder that increasing reliance on natural gas, coupled with limited pipeline capacity to deliver it, has ramifications for the reliability of the electric grid and, potentially, the cost to consumers.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Renewable and clean energy surges in Connecticut
Bridgeport — There’s little to suggest that the five large, white-painted steel boxes and a collection of pipes near the railroad tracks was one of the most astonishing developments in clean energy in Connecticut in 2013. The only hint are these words lettered on each box: FuelCell Energy –- Ultra-clean, Efficient, Reliable Power.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Connecticut gets first federal buyouts for Sandy victims
The results of the first federal property buyout for victims of storm Sandy are likely to mean, among other changes, that in the next few years, one shoreline neighborhood in West Haven could all but disappear.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Connecticut, 7 other states seek EPA crackdown on Midwest pollution
Connecticut and seven other eastern states, all with Democratic governors and all under longstanding orders to reduce air pollution, said Monday they are petitioning the Environmental Protection Agency to force stricter air standards on nine upwind states from the Rust Belt and Appalachia that rely on coal-fired power plants.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Wind power blocked again in CT — political charges fly
For the fourth time in a little less than a year, a legislative committee has declined to approve regulations for wind turbines in Connecticut, leaving in place a moratorium on wind power projects that has been in effect for more than two years. It reaffirms Connecticut as the only state in the region, and possibly in the nation, that specifically does not permit wind projects.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
New CT customers to pick up most of tab for natural gas conversions
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority Friday signed off on the final version of a plan to convert 280,000 homes and businesses to natural gas heat from oil and other fuels over the next 10 years. The gas conversion plan is the cornerstone of the state’s Comprehensive Energy Strategy unveiled just over a year ago and officially approved by the legislature in the last session.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Norwich lights way as Connecticut starts to push gas heat
Norwich – Paul Blanchard’s heating system is purring like a kitten. OK, a very large kitten. But to him, it’s the sound of music. Before last winter that same system ran on oil. Now a new burner attached to his boiler runs on natural gas.
Posted inNews
Solar panels, other technologies, present new firefighting hazards in Connecticut
Those benign-looking solar panels — the darlings of the renewable energy world — may appear to be nothing to worry about as they turn sunlight into clean power, but it’s a different story if you’re a firefighter. Solar panels can be dangerous, if not deadly, to firefighters because when there’s light hitting the panels, they […]
Posted inEnergy & Environment
CT gets climate change – not the $ to fix it
Do folks in Connecticut think climate change is occurring? Yes they do – and big time, according to the first comprehensive state-by-state polling on climate change. Data compiled at Stanford University for 46 states (Alaska, Hawaii, North Dakota, Wyoming and the District of Columbia were the exceptions) show a generally high belief that there is climate change, and government should do something about it – in fact several different things – even without the cooperation of other nations.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
CT in top 5 states on energy efficiency
Connecticut inched its way back into the top five states in the U.S. for energy efficiency policies and programs for the first time since 2009, according to the annual rankings by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). The state came in at No. 5, up from No. 6 last year. But it bettered […]
Posted inNews
CT alone in renewables rollback
Connecticut has landed all alone in something of an environmental hall of shame for legislation enacted last session that could result in the state’s use of less classic renewable energy. If you missed that particular battle, the legislation allowed for more Canadian hydropower in the state’s electricity mix at the potential expense of wind, solar […]
