Clean Energy: For Today And Tomorrow
Investments in clean energy create jobs, reduce our dependence on foreign oil and stabilize energy prices over the long term.
In Massachusetts, we send 80 percent of the $22 billion spent on energy annually out of the state to purchase oil, coal and natural gas from places such as Venezuela, the Middle East and Canada.
Under the leadership of Gov. Patrick and Lt. Gov. Murray, Massachusetts has embarked on a nation-leading effort to make these investments by adopting a clean energy policy, which includes the Green Communities Act.
We currently have 86 "green communities" across the state — many in Worcester County — making investments in renewable energy like wind and solar, and in energy efficiency, which should always be our “first fuel.” By generating and saving energy, municipalities, residents, and businesses have a hand in bringing price stability to electricity costs and relief from the rollercoaster of volatile fossil fuel prices and supply, while supporting our growing clean energy economy.
The Patrick-Murray Administration’s energy policies, including the Green Communities program, is designed to keep the billions we send out of state here.
In his Feb. 6 column (“Energy Cost Review: A Bright Idea”) that criticized costs associated with the Green Communities plan, John Regan neglected to mention that Massachusetts and the Northeast region in general lie at the end of the energy pipeline, lacking indigenous supplies of coal, natural gas, and oil.
Northeastern states pay some of the nation’s highest electricity costs. In the U.S. Department of Energy Information Administration report that he cited, the average electricity price for New England industrial customers was 12.84 cents per kilowatt hour, higher than all other U.S. regions except Hawaii and Alaska. In the Southwest Central region of the country — home to local sources of fossil fuels — the average is about half that: 6.4 cents.
While our Green Communities program may have a small impact on the average homeowner’s bill, this investment yields $3.8 billion in net energy benefits. These benefits will cut energy bills for participants in clean energy programs, eliminate energy price shocks, create homegrown sources of energy, and bring in enough energy savings to power 350,000 homes.
We are positioning the next generation for a clean and better energy future. Leaving out the second part of this equation, as Mr. Regan does, is just bad math.
We’ve built a robust new clean energy sector in Massachusetts that grew nearly 7 percent last year, fueling jobs in service industries, engineering, research and development, and manufacturing. We have nearly 5,000 clean energy companies in Massachusetts employing more than 64,000.
The main lever the state has on generation costs — which we don’t regulate — is energy efficiency, which reduces our energy use. The cheapest, and cleanest, form of fuel is the one we don’t use, and that’s what Green Communities is promoting.
Richard K. Sullivan Jr. is secretary of energy and environ-mental affairs for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
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