Free Daily Headlines:
LET’S GET SOCIAL
Stories about energy, coastal resilience, pollution, environmental health, land use, and environmental legislation.
Connecticut is preparing to go big on offshore wind – or maybe not-so-big. Recently, the Energy and Technology Committee agreed to hear testimony on a bill that would require Connecticut to procure at least 2,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030. At a Chamber of Commerce breakfast in New London this week, a room full of regional business leaders applauded when State Sen. Paul Formica, the committee’s ranking Republican, announced the move.
The state legislature in Hartford has begun a new session with yet more gun control legislation at the top of their "to-do" list. Never mind that Connecticut is near the top of the list with 89 gun-related laws already on the books. Every time something bad happens, the knee-jerk reaction from certain legislators is to pass yet one more law so that "this will never happen again." This is a totally unrealistic approach to anything, as a perfect world filled with rainbows, lollipops and unicorns cannot be achieved through legislation.
Tolls are not the solution to Connecticut’s transportation-related financial problems. Tolls are simply another tax which the residents of Connecticut cannot afford. ... At least 70 percent of vehicles on Connecticut roads at any given time belong to Connecticut residents, so over 70 percent of revenue will be collected from Connecticut residents.
The General Assembly is considering several bills this session which would prohibit non-compete agreements in employee contracts. Such agreements can be seen as limiting opportunity and discouraging entrepreneurship. On deeper consideration, though, there are vital reasons in our industry for these clauses.
WASHINGTON -- Now the only CT lawmaker on the fence about the Green New Deal is Rep. Jim Himes, D-4th District.
The solar compensation policy that nearly derailed major energy legislation last session is back for a new go-round this session.
The final clean energy competition of the Malloy administration on Friday handed the Millstone Nuclear Power Station the lifeline it has sought for nearly two years claiming the plant was at risk of closing otherwise. In a blow to the environmental advocacy community, renewable power projects were awarded fewer than 20 percent of the total power production up for bid.
Efforts by the Malloy administration to move towards more renewable energy to help fight climate change are poised to shift to the Gov.-elect Ned Lamont, who has even more aggressive goals. But the battles the Malloy administration fought with the utilities for eight years, which are still unresolved, also are also poised to shift to the new governor.
Shoreline resiliency against sea level rise and flooding in Connecticut is largely in the hands of local governments. But with money tight and local budgets reliant on the taxes shoreline properties generate, efforts to protect coastal communities from climate change have been slow and underfunded. Some communities, however, are making more progress than others.
