Energy

To the editor:I read with interest your recent story on hydropower (Aug. 3, Critics: Baker hydropower bill...

Massachusetts has long been one of the strongest supporters of solar development, offering various incentives to encourage families and businesses to put up solar panels. Now, though, some are asking whether the solar industry has come so far that it no longer needs nudging from the government.

As Gov. Charlie Baker prepares to travel to Canada next week to meet with his fellow New England governors, a new report commissioned by business groups suggests that the region will face substantially higher energy costs and lose 52,000 private sector jobs in the next five years if it fails to expand its natural gas and electricity infrastructure.

The secret is out that Massachusetts is among the most solar-friendly states, with incentives that were rolled out seven years ago under the Green Communities Act. That's why it's no surprise to Ken Driscoll, CEO of Hopkinton-based Solect Energy, that out-of-state companies are moving in for a piece of the market. While Driscoll feels confident that his business, which serves commercial, nonprofit and government users, is established enough to fend off competitors, he and his partners are looking outside the Bay State just as others are moving in.

Devens-based power grid and wind energy equipment manufacturer AMSC announced $6 million in orders Wednesday morning.

Mark Durrenberger co-founded New England Clean Energy, formerly New England Breeze, in Hudson in 2006. Focusing today largely on residential solar energy installations, the company has become a major provider of such systems throughout Central Massachusetts.

HYDROPOWER? POUR IT ON!Gov. Charlie Baker's recently filed bill to widen the use of hydropower in Massachusetts,...

Environmentalists are calling on Massachusetts officials to accelerate their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, urging policymakers to set new long-term targets and focus on the transportation sector and "solar-ready" new homes.

ISO New England said prices for natural gas and electricity remained low in July, after record-setting lows in June.

The residential solar company Sunrun, based in San Francisco, has announced that it will open a new branch office in Marlborough, bringing more than 100 jobs to the area.