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State Politics

State Initiative Petitions Referred to Committee

by Mary Serreze | Feb 2, 2010 9:04 am | Comments (0)

Massachusetts lawmakers have begun to route potential 2010 ballot questions to committees for review.
(Photo: Anti-Tax Crusader Carla Howell)

The Revenue Committee, co-chaired by Lexington Democrat Jay Kaufman, will review a pair of tax questions: The “3% Sales Tax Relief Act,” filed by Carla Howell, former Libertarian party candidate for governor, would reduce the state’s 6.25 percent sales tax, boosted from 5 percent last summer, back down to 3 percent. Another, filed by the Massachusetts Package Stores Association, would exempt retail alcohol sales from the state’s 6.25 percent sales tax.

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The Massachusetts Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS): What Is It, Anyway?

by Mary Serreze | Dec 4, 2009 3:24 pm | Comments (0)

Massachusetts has made a list of energy technologies that it wishes to encourage. These technologies are defined in the Renewable Portfolio Standards, or RPS.

The RPS is regulated by the Department of Energy Resources (DOER), which is administered by Commissioner Philip Guidice. The DOER is a branch of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEOEA), headed by Secretary Ian Bowles, who answers directly to Governor Deval Patrick.

The Massachusetts RPS statute was the first in the nation. Established in 1997, it requires that electricity retailers buy an increasing yearly percentage of their power from “new renewables” produced in New England, New York, and Quebec. The first compliance year was 2003, when the purchasing requirement stood at one percent. The obligation for 2009 has ramped up to four percent, and is slated to rise by one point each year.

Every RPS-qualified power plant has an account with the New England Power Pool (NEPOOL), as do electricity retailers and and certificate brokers. Each megawatt hour of energy produced by an official renewable source generates an electronic certificate with specific attributes. These renewable energy certificates, or RECs, are traded within the NEPOOL market, and ultimately purchased by utilities eager to meet their purchasing quota under the law. (Some people refer to these certificates as “green tags.”)

In 2006, almost a million RECs were purchased in Massachusetts. Only about eight percent originated from wind and solar producers. Landfill gas-to-electricity accounted for almost one half. A full 42% came from the broad category known as “biomass”—incinerators that burn carbon-based fuels, such as wood chips or municipal solid waste, to produce electricity. Only a quarter of 2006 NEEPOOL renewable energy was produced in Massachusetts. A full 39% came from Maine, which hosts a number of large biomass incinerators.

Originally, only solar, wind, ocean, certain fuel cells, landfill gas-to-electricity, and so-called “low-emission, advanced” biomass incineration using virgin fuels were eligible for RECs. Vintage hydropower, existing biomass, and existing municipal waste incinerators were excluded. The market problem that these policies mean to address has been referred to as the “green spread”—the cost difference between new renewable energy and conventional energy production.

The renewable standards were broadened within the Massachusetts Green Communites Act of 2008. A new “Class 2” designation covers facilities developed before 1998. A separate “Alternative Portfolio” (APS) seeks to replace fossil fuel sources with energy efficiency measures. Nuclear power is not part of the portfolio. Under the Act, Massachusetts must meet at least 20 percent of its electric load through its RPS or Alternative Portfolio Standard (APS) by 2020.

Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have developed RPS and six have established portfolio goals. New York’s standard is 24 percent by 2013, Montana’s is 15 percent by 2015, and Wisconsin’s is 10 percent by 2015, according to the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency. National standards also could be on the horizon to accelerate biomass development, as a bill with a federal renewable electricity standard, American Clean Energy & Security Act, passed in the House of Representatives in June.

Patrick Kills Outpatient Services at Holyoke Soldiers’ Home; Northampton VA to Take Up Slack

by Mary Serreze | Nov 27, 2009 9:51 am | Comments (0)

“The outpatient services, which include dentistry, urology and eye care, are used by 2,500 veterans a year. Those veterans will now have to go elsewhere. Veterans Administration Medical Center in Northampton is prepared to serve many of them.” CBS 3 Reports, MassLive reports.

Municipal Association to Patrick: No Budget Axe Until Five Key Reforms Adopted

by Mary Serreze | Nov 25, 2009 11:10 am | Comments (0)

“Cities and towns are experiencing extreme fiscal distress,” wrote Geoffrey Beckwith, Mass Municipal Association Executive Director, in an October 15 letter to Governor Deval Patrick. The Massachusetts Municipal Association wants five key reforms from Governor Deval Patrick before he takes any more action to cut local aid.

Related Story: Legislature Stalls Local Aid Cuts

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Fairground ENF Filed: Clock Ticking on Public Comment

by Mary Serreze | Nov 22, 2009 8:45 am | Comments (1)

The Three County Fair Redevelopment Authority has submitted an Environmental Notification Form (ENF) to state regulators, kicking off a public comment period that will last until December 14. (Download 4-page ENF here.)

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Exit 19 Traffic Engineers Visit Northampton; Provide Update

by Mary Serreze | Nov 21, 2009 11:06 am | Comments (0)

Video by Lachlan Zeigler. Posted to North Street Neighborhood Association BlipTV Channel.

Exit 19 PAC Meeting 11-16 Full Video

by Mary Serreze | Nov 20, 2009 10:42 am | Comments (0)

Holyoke’s High Performance Computing Center Moving Right Along

by Mary Serreze | Oct 24, 2009 3:00 pm | Comments (0)

Watch out, Northampton. Here comes Holyoke.

Partners MIT, UMass, BU, EMC, Cisco, Accenture, and the City of Holyoke have completed, after an intensive 120-day period, a working plan for Holyoke’s High Performance Computing Center (HPCC). According to Massachusetts News Wire, the partners have:

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City Meals and Motel Tax Starts Tomorrow

by Mary Serreze | Sep 30, 2009 7:48 am | Comments (0)

Northampton is one of 30 Massachusetts communities that will, on Thursday, start collecting a local tax on meals and hotel rooms. The option to tax meals and rooms at the local level was approved by the state legislature this year. In Northampton, a 0.75 percent local tax will be added to the state’s 6.25 percent tax on restaurant meals. Northampton is projected to raise $378,182 this fiscal year from the new meals tax and $72,606 from the new motel room tax. Read Dan Ring’s report on MassLive.

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