Mass. Gov.'s Climate Change Legacy

3 advisers to Deval Patrick resigned over his approach to meet clean energy goals; Mass. Energy and Environmental Affairs Sect. weighs in

On Wednesday, three environmentalists advising the Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick Administration resigned over Patrick’s approach to meet his clean energy goals.

This comes as several New England states want to pave the way for a new pipeline to boost the natural gas supplies in the region.

The other bone of contention is a massive hydro power project underway in Quebec. Governor Patrick hopes to make Quebec hydro a major contributor to the energy mix in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Maeve Bartlett joined NECN to discuss Patrick’s global warming legacy.

Secretary Bartlett says Patrick has been a leader in the United States clean energy economy.

“All experts believe that there will be a loss of 8,300 megawatts of power that are now coming into the New England region. We need to make up that difference both from a reliability standpoint and a cost standpoint,” Secretary Bartlett explained. “I think the problem becomes that they are seeing the clean energy resource bill as solely a procurement for hydropower.”

Governor Patrick has said he is skeptical of a natural gas pipeline and while he badly wants hydropower, they are committed to a gas line. Secretary Bartlett said it is an ongoing conversation and there are many stages to go through.

In addition, Secretary Bartlett outlined the successes of Massachusetts in the clean energy sector.

“Our solar companies in Massachusetts are growing. They’re one of the fastest growing segments. We are going to continue every step of the way on energy efficiency. We have the new energy efficiency program rolling out for 30 million dollars. We’re all in on energy efficiency and we are, assuming we believe that Massachusetts will be home to the first offshore wind farm in the nation,” Secretary Bartlett said.

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