The New England Council is pleased to share with you our newest report, “The New England Energy Landscape: History, Challenges & Outlook.” This report is designed to provide businesses, policymakers, and other stakeholders a comprehensive overview of the history of the New England energy market, the current challenges in meeting the region’s energy needs, and an outlook for how the regions energy landscape could evolve in the coming years.
The Council understands that energy is a profoundly important -but also confusing -topic for New England businesses, organizations, and consumers. With this report, we are proud to offer a resource we believe can help people become better informed and conversant in the numerous energy issues facing our region, how our power grid and energy supplies function, and how decisions are made.
The report covers a wide array of topics, ranging from the history of the energy market in the region, to the current mix of energy sources, to how planned facility closures in the near future will impact the region’s ability to meet energy demands. It also provides an overview of how energy prices are set and the factors that influence those costs, how decisions are made about siting of energy facilities and infrastructure, and the role renewables and other new energy sources are playing in the region.
In this report, the Council does not take sides on pending debates. The key message we hope legislators, regulators, and other policymakers will take away is that all energy decisions are deeply interrelated. No energy decision is made in a vacuum. We believe that it is important to be mindful that decision we make about natural gas, renewable energy, nuclear power, or coal- or oil-powered electric supply will have impacts on the price and supply of every other kind of energy, as well as our progress toward environmental goals and mandates. We have seen time and again that decisions made in one New England state about the preferred mix and source of electricity will often have impacts in other states in the need for additional electric transmission or pipeline capacity. The Council hopeful this report can encourage a more holistic discussion about our energy choices for the future.
The report was researched and written for The New England Council by Peter J. Howe, a respected long-time business reporter for The Boston Globe and New England Cable News who is now a Senior Advisor at Denterlein in Boston. In compiling the report, over 30 energy companies and organizations representing all facets of the energy industry in New England were interviewed and consulted for data and feedback.
The report is available online and hard copies are also available upon request. We hope that this new report will be a useful resource to you as we continue to work as a region toward our shared goals of reliable, sustainable, and affordable energy.
If you have any questions about the report, or would like additional information on the Council’s work on energy issues, please contact David O’Donnell at [email protected] or 6217-723-4009.