Despite the environmental, economic, and reliability benefits of switching to a renewables future, New Orleans, Louisiana is being blocked by local utility monopoly, Entergy.

Electric Companies Like Entergy Are Using Affiliate Transactions to Block Renewable Energy, Here’s How
December 11, 2019 12:38 PM EDT

Michigan Should Reject DTE’s Integrated Resource Plan, Here’s Why
December 10, 2019 10:09 AM EDT
After hundreds of pages of expert testimony (including testimony from UCS), thousands of public comments, and two rounds of legal briefing, a Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) administrative law judge will issue a recommended decision later this month on whether DTE’s integrated resource plan should be rejected, modified, or approved. UCS and numerous other stakeholders are urging the MPSC to reject DTE’s flawed resource plan and direct the company to redo its analysis. Here’s why. Read more >

Open Letter Demands Clean Energy Alternative to Risky Eversource Substation
December 5, 2019 1:56 PM EDT
This is the fourth of a four-part blog series on East Boston, a Controversial Substation, and Opportunities for a Clean Energy Transition.
In recent weeks via this blog we have explored a proposal from Boston-area electric utility Eversource to locate a risky high-voltage substation in a densely populated neighborhood in East Boston. We have covered the characteristics of East Boston and the range of environmental justice issues it faces, the community’s concerns around the project, and our own analysis of a local clean energy alternative.
This blog post is aimed at the decision-makers who are tasked with determining the wisdom of allowing the project to proceed, or of requiring more information and a more reality-based exploration of risks and opportunities. Below is an open letter from Juan Ramos, a Union of Concerned Scientists colleague and a resident of East Boston, asking the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB) to listen to the people of East Boston; to base their decision on up-to-date, transparent, and sufficient data; and not to approve the current substation proposal from Eversource. Add your name to this open letter! Read more >

A Clean Energy Alternative to a Risky Proposed Substation in East Boston
November 21, 2019 11:45 AM EDT
This is the third of a four-part blog series on East Boston, a Controversial Substation, and Opportunities for a Clean Energy Transition.
Right now, utilities and other key actors in the energy sector are making critical decisions that could have implications far into our future. These decisions will either enable a transition to local clean energy or lock us in for decades to expensive, traditional, and centralized energy models.
One such decision is playing out in East Boston, as the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB) considers a proposal from Eversource to locate a substation in the densely populated Eagle Hill neighborhood. Read more >

Proposed Tax Package Is Critical for Clean Energy Momentum and Progress on Climate
November 19, 2019 10:11 AM EDT
The clean energy tax package proposed today by House Ways and Means Committee Democrats is Congress’s best chance to do something meaningful on clean energy and climate change this year. The proposal would provide tax incentives for a host of renewable energy technologies as well as battery storage that is critical to decarbonize our power sector. The package also looks to increase the number of electric vehicles that would qualify for a tax credit, making an important step towards addressing emissions from the transportation sector.