Stories

Offshore wind turbines at sunset.

Feds approve plan to delay scrapping a New England energy rule that harms renewables

May 28, 2022

A controversial rule that makes it harder for renewable energy projects to participate in one of New England’s lucrative electricity markets will remain in place for another two years. Late Friday night, federal energy regulators approved a plan from the regional grid operator, ISO New England, to keep the so-called minimum offer price rule — or…

Read More

New England psychiatrists, pediatricians say more kids are experiencing climate change anxiety

May 28, 2022

Psychiatrists and pediatricians from New England say that children they see in their practice show increased anxiety around climate change. At a webinar Thursday, hosted by the National Alliance of Mental Illness of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Health Care Workers for Climate Action, Elizabeth Pinsky, a child, and adolescent psychiatrist and pediatrician at…

Read More
The five turbines of the Block Island Wind Farm off the coast of Rhode Island.

The debate over an outdated rule that’s harming renewable energy in New England

May 26, 2022

There’s a rule in the New England energy system that nobody likes. And not just because it uses a lot of complex math. This rule ends up making it harder for renewable energy projects to participate in an important regional electricity market. The New England states want it gone. U.S. Senators Ed Markey, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie…

Read More
This Friday, Sept. 20, 2013 file photo shows the country's first floating wind turbine works off the coast of Castine, Maine.

New England task force convenes to plan the next phase of offshore wind development

May 26, 2022

Last year, President Joe Biden announced plans to start leasing areas of the Gulf of Maine to offshore wind energy developers by 2024. On Thursday, May 18, the federal Bureau Of Ocean Energy Management convened a task force of officials from Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and tribal governments to consider the next phase in the…

Read More
State biologist Lee Kantar examines a dead moose on April 26, 2022. Moose Number 59 was captured and fitted with a radio collar in the winter of 2014. The moose showed signs of anemia, which Kantar says means she had been fed on by ticks and had extreme blood loss.

Winter ticks wiped out nearly 90% of the moose calves scientists tracked in part of Maine last year

May 18, 2022

Maine is home to the largest moose population in the lower 48 states. But in one of the moosiest corners of the state, nearly 90% of the calves tracked by biologists last winter didn’t survive their first year. And the culprit? A tiny critter that is thriving in parts of Maine as the climate warms.…

Read More

New England energy demand recently dropped to its lowest point ever

May 10, 2022

New England’s energy demand dropped to its lowest point ever earlier this month thanks to good weather and the continued adoption of rooftop solar on homes and businesses. Officials at regional grid operator ISO New England said energy demand fell to its lowest point ever – 7,580 megawatts – on Sunday, May 1st. It’s the…

Read More
A GIF of the North Atlantic Right Whale was spotted off the coast of North Hampton on May 6, 2022.

Rare North Atlantic right whale spotted feeding off N.H. coast

May 9, 2022

New Hampshire’s coast had a rare visitor Friday: a North Atlantic right whale could be seen feeding just off the shore in North Hampton. The right whale has been on the federal endangered species list since 1970. There are fewer than 350 left. Dianna Schulte, director of research for the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation, has…

Read More

I tried to eat like a hardcore locavore in New England for a week. Here’s what I learned

May 7, 2022

Essay from WBUR reporter Andrea Shea. On a drab April morning I opened my eyes and immediately felt bereft. I sighed, then pouted. My usual cup of comfort and courage was off limits. While the beans in my coffee press are roasted in Sudbury, they’re harvested in Ethiopia. If you’re like me — and about 66% of Americans —…

Read More

Solar crisis hits Maine as investigation into Chinese panel manufacturers puts projects on hold

May 6, 2022

Hundreds of large-scale solar power projects are on hold in the U.S., while federal trade officials investigate whether Chinese manufacturers and affiliates in Southeast Asia illegally avoided duties on solar panels. Some see the situation as a threat to President Biden’s climate agenda. Lately some of Maine’s gently rolling hills have been sprouting long rows…

Read More
Low clouds approaching Mount Washington.

Climate change is coming for New England’s highest peak

May 2, 2022

Mount Washington in New Hampshire is famous for some of the world’s worst weather. The mountain, the highest peak in the northeast, has long held the record for the fastest wind gust ever recorded by a human — 231 mph on April 12, 1934. At 6,288 feet, the weather is often freezing, even in spring. And the…

Read More