Business group has Coakley's ear

BY: Bruce Mohl

January 19, 2012

Attorney General Martha Coakley renewed her call this week for revisions to the state’s Green Communities Act, a position that has put her at odds with many in the environmental community but in sync with some of the state’s top business executives.

Coakley first suggested tweaking the Green Communities Act in testimony before a legislative committee back in November. She warned that the cost of implementing the law over the next four years will be $4 billion, resulting in a 7 percent increase in electricity rates.

The attorney general says she wants to reduce those costs and still achieve the original environmental goals. She mentioned in November that she favored “technology-neutral” policies on renewable energy, an approach favored by the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership, a group of the state’s top business executives.

On Wednesday, in a speech to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Coakley again called for changes in the Green Communities Act and alluded to discussions she has held with executives from the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership.

Coakley said she had recently talked to executives at EMC Corp. and Raytheon about their energy costs. She said she learned that 30 percent of EMC’s global operations are based in Massachusetts, yet that 30 percent accounts for more than half of the total company’s energy expenditures. She said Raytheon had told her its costs increase a million dollars a year for every one-cent increase in the price of electricity.

“If we don’t address these costs, we are severely limiting your business’s ability to stay here and grow here,” she told the Chamber.

Sources say Coakley met with Joseph Tucci, the chief executive of EMC, and officials from Raytheon on Dec. 22 at EMC headquarters in Hopkinton. Tucci is on the energy committee of the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership. Raytheon’s CEO, William Swanson, is a member of the partnership.

The business group is proposing that Massachusetts utilities be allowed to use large-scale hydroelectric power from Canada as well as power saved from energy efficiency projects to meet the Green Community Act’s renewable portfolio standards. The group says its approach would save ratepayers $10 billion and achieve the same emissions goals, but environmental activists say the plan would make it much more difficult to develop wind and solar power projects across the state.

Coakley spokesperson Melissa Karpinsky said the attorney general is meeting with a wide range of groups on energy issues, including environmental and business groups. Karpinsky said Coakley supports the Green Communities Act. “She also believes that we must look at ways to make it better by providing further savings for ratepayers and businesses, while maintaining its benefits,” she said.

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OnlyOneEarth
Says on 01.27.2012
at 9:28 AM

We should recognize EMC and Raytheon for their business leadership here in Massachusetts. Results like EMC’s recent annual net income up 30% from last year to about $2.5 Billion this year are a true testament to Massachusetts ability to attract businesses. It’s also encouraging to see these businesses recognizing the importance of reducing greenhouse gases. EMC’s wind grant to explore wind feasibility at its site is one such example and Raytheon’s development of solar technologies is another.

In the broader context of public policy, polling continues to suggest a high level of support to foster renewable energy. Election results have demonstrated this according to a Stanford University poll where:

"Democrats who took 'green' positions on climate change won much more often than did Democrats who remained silent," Krosnick said. "Republicans who took 'not-green' positions won less often than Republicans who remained silent."

According to a recent Yale poll in November of 2011:

90 percent of Americans say developing sources of clean energy should be a very high (30%), high (35%), or medium (25%) priority for the president and Congress, including 82 percent of registered Republicans, 91 percent of Independents, and 97 percent of Democrats.

The Experts also agree:

The recent IEA Global Energy Outlook stated “We cannot afford to delay further action to tackle climate change … Delaying action is a false economy: for every $1 of investment avoided in the power sector before 2020 an additional $4.3 would need to be spent after 2020 to compensate for increased emissions.”

Here in Massachusetts the Executive Office on Housing and Economic Development recently performed a study on electricity market reforms that found that for every $1 spent on reforms from the Green Communities Act the state received $3 dollars in benefit.

philips66
Says on 01.20.2012
at 7:13 AM

Thank You AG Coakley for watching out for the residents of Mass.! Somehow in this argument, the radical environmentalists have gotten a higher priority than the millions of homeowners and renters in this state. The enviros make up a very small percentage of overall citizens in Mass.

Since we are the ones that will be paying such high power rates, I suggest that Commonwealth Magazine puts some of the focus on us.
High power rates hit the low income families the hardest. The next hardest hit are the middle class.
The best way to get the economy humming again would be to scrap the Green Communities Act, and lower our utility bills now.
The 64,000 green jobs created is a myth. If I'm wrong, go ahead and put up a list of all of the names so we can verify.
If you want to see how destructive these renewable energy scams are to economies, look to Europe.

It's time to let Hydro Quebec bring their inexpensive hydro power down to S. New England. It's much more cost effective and ratepayer friendly.