Environment

Minor league hockey is once again returning to the DCU Center in Worcester, a year after the Worcester Sharks of the AHL moved to San Jose.

More superstores should follow the leads of Wal-Mart, Costco, Kohl's, and IKEA and use large rooftop expanses to install solar energy panels, according to a report released Wednesday.

Marlborough's Xtalic has created a new metal alloy that it says could replace gold and help cell phones last longer and resist corrosion that ultimately affects their ability to recharge.

As the medical marijuana industry in Massachusetts continues to grow, the state's fifth registered dispensary plans to open for sales this week in Lowell.

The largest solar array ever to be situated over a brownfield in Massachusetts has been completed and is now set to serve Central Massachusetts communities and organizations.

With an expansion of solar incentives bottled up in committee and a battle over a comprehensive new state energy policy looming this spring, the Environmental League of Massachusetts Action Fund plans to launch a $25,000 ad campaign targeting the influence of the utilities in shaping the energy debate.

National Grid plans to invest just under $1.2 billion into energy efficiency programs over the next three years, with an expected payoff of $3.6 billion in savings for customers.

Optimism about the state economy -- bolstered by news that Boston has lured GE away from Connecticut -- helped get 2016 off to a positive start for business confidence despite uneasy financial markets, according to the Associated Industries of Massachusetts.

A group of corporate partners representing the often-times competing interests of hydroelectric, on-shore wind and transmission have forged a new coalition to push lawmakers to embrace policies put forward by Gov. Charlie Baker and others that would diversify the state's energy mix.

Gov. Charlie Baker's $39.55 billion budget proposal was filed Wednesday and a hearing schedule on the spending plan emerged late Friday. It will take lawmakers From Boston to Amherst, Methuen, Springfield, Medford, and Everett and back to Boston again.