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Environmental and community advocates in Massachusetts argue that making too much room for biofuels in a pending state plan to decarbonize heating systems would slow the transition from fossil fuels and cause more pollution than a plan that prioritizes electric heat pumps.
As the state works on the creation of a Clean Heat Standard, a report released last month by Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility raises questions about the effects using biodiesel in fuel-oil heating systems could have on air quality and public health, saying there is not enough information available about the pollutants released in the process.
Advocates say there is no such uncertainty about electric heat pumps, which create no direct emissions and should therefore be heavily favored in the new state policy.
“We absolutely think the thumb should be on the scale of electrification,” said Larry Chretien, executive director of the Green Energy Consumers Alliance. “If they give credit to biofuels, it ought to be conditional.”
Oil heating is much more prevalent in the Northeast than in the rest of the country. In Massachusetts, 22% of households are heated with oil, as compared to less than 5% nationwide. Moving homes and businesses off oil heat, therefore, is an important element of the state’s plan to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, which sets a target of reducing emissions from heating by 93% from 1990 levels in that timeframe.
The process of developing a Clean Heat Standard began when then-Gov. Charlie Baker convened the Commission on Clean Heat in 2021. In 2022, the board recommended the creation of the standard, which was also included in the state’s Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2050, released later that year. A stakeholder process began in 2023, and in the fall of that year the state released a draft framework for the standard that included the expectation of issuing credits for some biofuel use.
The program is expected to require gas utilities and importers of heating oil and propane to provide an increasing proportion of clean heating services like home heat pumps, networked geothermal, and other options, or buy credits from other parties that have implemented these solutions.
Whether the other options that qualify as clean heat will include biofuels — fuels derived from renewable, organic sources — has been a matter of contention since the idea for the system was first raised.
Climate advocates have tended to oppose the inclusion of much, if any, biofuel in the standard. Though biodiesel creates lower lifetime greenhouse gas emissions than its conventional counterpart, the recent Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility report contends that there are many unanswered questions about how burning biodiesel impacts public health.
“Given the sheer amount of doubt, there’s more research that should clearly be done before these fuels are subsidized by the state government,” said report author Carrie Katan, who also works as a Massachusetts policy advocate for the Green Energy Consumers Alliance, but compiled the report as an independent contractor for the physicians group.
The physicians’ report notes a study by Trinity Consulting Group that found significant health benefits to switching from fossil diesel to biodiesel for building heating. The physicians’ report, however, questions the methodology used in that study, claiming it cherrypicks data and fails to cite sources.
Katan’s report also notes that the health impacts of biofuels can vary widely depending on the organic matter used to create them, and points out that most of the research on burning biofuels is focused on the transportation sector.
Climate advocates also argue that embracing biofuels in a Clean Heat Standard would unnecessarily prolong the transition to electric heat pumps while encouraging the continued burning of fossil heating oil. Typically, a heating oil customer using biodiesel receives a blend that is no more than 20% biofuel. Providing credit for that fraction of biofuel would therefore improve the economics of the entire heating oil system, contrary to the overall emissions reduction goals of the policy, Chretien said.
“We’re trying to create a system that is rewarding steps towards greenhouse gas reduction,” he said.
Advocates of biofuels, however, say they are confident that existing science makes a solid case for the health and environmental benefits of biodiesel.
“There’s a decades-long body of work showing the overall benefits to public health of biofuels, specifically biodiesel,” said Floyd Vergara, a consultant for Clean Fuels Alliance America, a national trade association representing the biodiesel, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel industries.
Vergara, who was involved in the Trinity Consulting study, called out in the physicians’ report, also defended the methodologies and sourcing of that paper.
Further, he said, though biodiesel is typically limited to 20% in current blends, it is quite possible to run a heating system entirely on biofuel, with just a few tweaks to the equipment. These conversions could yield immediate reductions in emissions, he said, rather than waiting for the slower process of replacing thousands of heating oil systems with electric heat pumps.
The difference could be particularly acute in low-income or other traditionally disadvantaged neighborhoods, where many residents can not afford to make the switch to heat pumps, he said.
“You’re getting those benefits immediately, and you’re getting them while the states are pursuing zero-emissions technologies,” he said.
State environmental regulators expect to release a full draft of the clean heat standard for public comment sometime this winter.
SOLAR: Nevada’s Clean Energy Fund looks to begin distributing $156 million in federal funds to multifamily affordable housing and community solar projects that would benefit low-income and disadvantaged households. (Nevada Current)
ALSO:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
OIL & GAS:
CLIMATE: California regulators plan to delay enforcing the state’s new greenhouse gas emissions disclosure law to allow companies more time to transition to full compliance. (Utility Dive)
CLEAN ENERGY: Advocates say the clean energy and transmission development surge on federal lands in Nevada and neighboring states amounts to “a fundamental transformation of the American West.” (Inside Climate News/Type Investigations)
GRID: California’s grid operator says increased battery energy storage capacity helped it meet rising power demand this summer even though gas generation declined. (RTO Insider, subscription)
COMMENTARY:
OIL & GAS: A U.S. Energy Department study finds a planned liquefied natural gas buildout would increase emissions and energy costs, but it doesn’t call for a hard limit on new projects and leaves the door open for Trump administration approvals. (The Guardian, E&E News)
ELECTRIFICATION: Advocates assess how to keep driving heat pump adoption through local and state policies as Republicans take over federal leadership. (Canary Media)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
GRID:
NUCLEAR: A Massachusetts company plans to build a 400-MW fusion power plant in Virginia, aiming to be the first commercial-scale fusion generator in the country. (Boston Globe)
POLITICS: A year-end federal funding bill includes language to boost semiconductor suppliers, but lacks permitting reforms, pipeline safety measures, and a slew of discussed natural resources measures. (E&E News)
CARBON CAPTURE: Occidental Petroleum builds a carbon capture facility in the gas-heavy Permian Basin, but critics argue that adding more injection wells could further destabilize a region already pockmarked with leaky oil and gas wells. (Marfa Public Radio)
CLIMATE: Massachusetts environmental advocates hope a provision in the state’s new climate law could halt a proposed expansion of private jet facilities at a suburban airport, which they say will drive up emissions. (Energy News Network)
WASHINGTON DC, December 3, 2024 – The American Clean Power Association (ACP) today released its latest Clean Power Quarterly Market Report, detailing a surge in clean energy deployment during Q3 2024, with 10.2 GW of clean energy capacity coming online. This record-setting quarter positions the industry to achieve a historic year in 2024, underscoring the strength of American clean power.
Year-to-date installations now total 29.6 GW, representing an impressive 86 percent increase over the same period in 2023. This growth highlights how clean energy resources have solidified themselves as an affordable and reliable source of power for communities across the country. The U.S. has now deployed 294 GW of clean power capacity—enough energy to power 72 million American homes.
“American-made clean power is meeting the moment, providing the resources necessary to continue delivering affordable and reliable power to communities across the country. The record pace of clean power installations is delivering not only for the power grid but for the U.S. economy,” said John Hensley, ACP’s SVP of Markets and Policy Analysis. “The impacts of the industry’s investments are vast, keeping America competitive on the global economic stage and enhancing our energy and national security.”
Additional Key Highlights:
A scaled-down version of the report is available to the public, with the full Clean Power Quarterly Market Report | Q3 2024 available only to ACP members.
The American Clean Power Association (ACP) is the leading voice of today’s multi-tech clean energy industry, representing over 800 energy storage, wind, utility-scale solar, clean hydrogen and transmission companies. ACP is committed to meeting America’s national security, economic and climate goals with fast-growing, low-cost, and reliable domestic power.
Follow ACP on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and learn more at cleanpower.org.
SOLAR: Cities in Michigan and Wisconsin are contracting with large utilities to provide solar power after encountering financial and logistical challenges with building rooftop solar installations. (Energy News Network)
ALSO:
GRID:
OIL & GAS: Nearly all of the 600 public comments sent to Ohio regulators in response to proposals to open a state park and two wildlife preservation areas to hydraulic fracturing oppose the plans. (Cleveland.com)
COAL: The Sierra Club criticizes Wisconsin utilities’ plan to keep open a coal plant for three years longer than previously planned, saying that it delays the clean energy transition and exposes residents to more harmful pollutants. (Wisconsin Examiner)
TRANSPORTATION: A majority of the recipients of a new Minnesota electric bike tax rebate went to residents making more than $100,000 a year while less than 40% of the rebates went to low-income residents. (Minnesota Reformer)
BATTERIES: A developer breaks ground on a $110 million mixed-use housing and hotel project that would connect to a nearby $7.5 billion central Indiana battery manufacturing plant. (Indianapolis Business Journal, subscription)
POLITICS: Establishing a fee for Minneapolis’ largest carbon emitters was one of multiple policies that the city’s mayor unsuccessfully attempted to veto in a disagreement with the more left-leaning city council. (MPR News)
COMMENTARY:
WIND: The federal Bureau of Land Management approves a downscaled version of the proposed Lava Ridge wind facility in southern Idaho amid lawmakers’ and advocates’ concerns about its impact to rural communities and a World War II Japanese American incarceration site. (Associated Press)
SOLAR:
OIL & GAS:
OVERSIGHT: Analysts say the outcome of a Utah oil-hauling railway case before the U.S. Supreme Court this week could curtail a landmark federal environmental law. (Inside Climate News)
ELECTRIFICATION:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: California prepares to launch its electric bicycle incentive program for lower-income residents, but some advocates say there should be more than 1,500 vouchers available. (Electrek)
TRANSPORTATION: Colorado’s largest public transit agency breaks ground on bus rapid transit projects in the Denver area as a lower-cost alternative to new commuter or light rail lines. (Colorado Sun)
GRID: NV Energy proposes a rate increase to pay for its Greenlink West and North transmission projects, saying the projected construction cost has doubled to more than $4.2 billion. (Nevada Independent)
CLEAN ENERGY: New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham says an influx of federal funding and private investments are making the state a clean energy generation and manufacturing powerhouse. (Albuquerque Journal)
COAL: Residents of the Black Mesa area on the Navajo Nation create a nonprofit aimed at bringing a just transition to communities in the historic coal mining region. (Arizona Republic)
UTILITIES: Avangrid asks the New Mexico Supreme Court to vacate regulators’ order blocking its proposed merger with the state’s largest utility. (Santa Fe New Mexican)
COMMENTARY: A Nevada columnist urges lawmakers to consider data centers’ rapid growth in the state and address their high energy and water consumption. (Nevada Independent)
CLIMATE: New Hampshire’s new climate plan is unlikely to include emissions reduction targets, and will instead focus on voluntary measures, use of federal funds, and market-based solutions. (NHPR)
ALSO:
SOLAR: Commissioners in one Maryland county vote to tighten the requirements for solar installations on agricultural land as they face a flurry of interest from developers. (Baltimore Sun, subscription)
GEOTHERMAL: Communities in Massachusetts and Vermont are among those awarded federal funding to support the construction of geothermal heating and cooling networks. (Smart Cities Dive)
FOSSIL FUELS: A Pennsylvania oil and gas company will pay $2 million and reduce emissions at 49 facilities as part of a settlement of alleged Clean Air Act violations. (Allegheny Front)
BIOFUELS: In New York, biofuels suppliers tout their product as a lower-emissions option, though some worry their use would only slow progress toward electrification. (Times Union)
UTILITIES:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A New Jersey legislative committee votes for a two-year delay on the implementation of a rule that would require increasing sales of battery-powered vehicles. (NJ Spotlight News)
EFFICIENCY: Connecticut launches a pilot providing funding, training, and expertise to small manufacturing companies looking to implement energy efficiency measures or use renewable energy. (Hartford Business Journal)
COMMENTARY: The renewable energy industry in Maine has a positive effect on the economy and creates stable, good-paying jobs, and should not be blamed for rising energy costs, says the cofounder of a solar company. (Bangor Daily News, subscription)
CLEAN ENERGY: While the Project 2025 policy blueprint calls for eliminating the Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office, Republican lawmakers are uncertain, with some saying the program, which turned a profit last year, could be retooled to emphasize energy sources like nuclear that are favored by conservatives. (E&E News, New York Times archive)
ALSO:
EQUITY: Advocates say anticipated Trump administration climate rollbacks, particularly the expected elimination of the Justice40 initiative, will hit Black communities especially hard. (Capital B News)
EMISSIONS: The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative offers a model of successful state-led action on decarbonization, and is considering ways to expand participation as Trump pledges to roll back federal climate policies. (Energy News Network)
STORAGE: Duke Energy moves to demolish the final units of a former coal plant in North Carolina and replace it with a 167 MW battery storage facility, marking a step toward renewables even though the utility still plans to build gas-fired power elsewhere. (Canary Media)
WIND: A federal agency identifies environmental measures it will likely take in a group of six offshore wind lease areas off New York, pushing ahead despite Trump’s claims he will stop offshore wind development. (Maritime Executive)
NUCLEAR: A Tennessee city that’s historically been a hotspot for nuclear research is seeing a resurgence of interest from companies eager to take part in a new “nuclear renaissance.” (Knoxville News Sentinel)
PIPELINES: Whistleblowers warn the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is “putting profit over safety” by largely relying on private inspectors hired by pipeline companies to monitor compliance with safety rules. (E&E News)
COAL: Wyoming and Montana join a lawsuit accusing three investment firms of following a “climate activist agenda” by colluding to acquire large stakes in publicly held coal companies and forcing the firms to slash Powder River Basin mine production. (Cowboy State Daily)
EFFICIENCY: A Minneapolis nonprofit is leading the construction of passive homes on the city’s north side that aim to save homeowners with minimal electric and heating bills. (Sahan Journal)
COMMENTARY: A Western journalist says the incoming Trump administration’s pro-drilling agenda will harm the environment while doing little to bolster oil and gas production — which reached record levels under Biden. (Land Desk)
COAL: Wyoming and Montana join a lawsuit accusing three investment firms of following a “climate activist agenda” by colluding to acquire large stakes in publicly held coal companies and forcing the firms to slash Powder River Basin mine production. (Cowboy State Daily)
OIL & GAS: Petroleum firms appeal a court order barring the federal Bureau of Land Management from issuing drilling permits for a Wyoming oil and gas project. (E&E News, subscription)
SOLAR:
BIOFUELS: Advocates push back on California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to expand ethanol-blending in gasoline, saying it is unlikely to lower fuel prices and could have environmental impacts in corn-growing regions. (Inside Climate News)
UTILITIES:
CLIMATE: Portland, Oregon, officials launch an online climate dashboard allowing residents to track local greenhouse gas emissions and local progress toward decarbonization targets. (OPB)
OVERSIGHT: California Gov. Gavin Newsom asks state lawmakers to allocate $25 million to fund litigation defending state climate, environmental and other progressive policies from the incoming Trump administration’s expected challenges. (Los Angeles Times)
MINING: A southeastern Utah copper mine lays off more than 55% of its workforce as it moves forward on a “significant restructuring effort.” (San Juan Record News)
PUBLIC LANDS: Wyoming advocates worry the incoming Republican-dominated Congress will overturn the Biden administration’s plan to tighten oil and gas drilling rules on 3.6 million acres of public land in the southwestern part of the state. (WyoFile)
COMMENTARY:
OFFSHORE WIND: A planned 114-turbine wind farm off Maryland receives final federal approval, but still faces local opposition and likely hostility from President-elect Donald Trump. (Maryland Matters)
RENEWABLES: New York state executes contracts for 23 renewable energy projects expected to reduce emissions by 2.3 million metric tons annually. (Renewable Energy Magazine)
BATTERIES: A company making zinc-based, long-duration batteries will use a $300 million federal loan guarantee to expand its Pennsylvania manufacturing facility to address a backlog of orders. (Utility Dive)
SOLAR:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The Canadian company that supplied electric school buses causing problems for several Maine school districts is on the brink of bankruptcy. (Portland Press Herald, subscription)
EMISSIONS: The company that owns the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania, which is looking to restart to sell power to Microsoft, routinely ranks among the U.S. power producers generating the lowest carbon emissions. (The Well)
EFFICIENCY: An affordable housing project in New Haven, Connecticut, includes $900,000 to complete energy efficiency retrofits for 30 existing homes in the neighborhood of the new units. (Connecticut Public Radio)
ELECTRIFICATION: New York launches a $10 million program to help advance cold-climate heat pump technology by funding manufacturers developing the products and field demonstration projects in large buildings. (Facility Executive)
COMMENTARY:
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