Miriam Wasser

With so many storm outages, why don't we put more power lines underground in Mass.? Putting power lines underground feels like an easy solution to weather-related outages. Problem is, it's wicked expensive.

"Wait, why don't we put power lines underground?" www.wbur.org/news/2026/02... @wbur.org

2025 was a tough year for climate progress in Mass., though there were some bright spots The 2025 Massachusetts climate report card shows that the state made some progress in key metrics, despite losing a lot of federal support and funding.

"2025 has been a tough year for climate action" 🌎

The annual report card shows where Massachusetts made progress on its goals, and here's where it fell short. @wbur.org #energysky www.wbur.org/news/2026/02...

Any photos?! I'd love to see what it looked like!

Boston is piloting a new type of heat pump that's as easy to install as a window AC The Boston Housing Authority is piloting a new type of window-mounted heat pump that's relatively inexpensive and easy to install.

Meet the window heat pump: A compact unit that's relatively cheap and takes half an hour to install.

While they're not widely available yet, they could prove to be an important climate solution in the future.
@wbur.org #energysky #decarbonization
www.wbur.org/news/2026/02...

#NEW: A federal judge rules that another offshore wind project, Sunrise Wind near New York, can resume construction.

This now means that all five wind farms paused by the Trump administration on Dec 22 have received preliminary injunctions.

Judge says construction on Vineyard Wind can resume A federal judge issued a temporary pause on a Trump administration order that halted construction on Vineyard Wind in late December. The project is 95% complete and already generating power for the Ne...

#ICYMI: A federal judge is allowing construction on Vineyard Wind to proceed.

This marks the 4th time a judge has ruled against the Trump administration in suits challenging its December stop-work order. www.wbur.org/news/2026/01... @wbur.org

Judge says construction on Vineyard Wind can resume A federal judge issued a temporary pause on a Trump administration order that halted construction on Vineyard Wind in late December. The project is 95% complete and already generating power for the Ne...

A federal judge says Vineyard Wind, a large and nearly complete offshore wind project near Massachusetts, can resume construction.

The project is 95% complete and already sending power to the New England grid @wbur.org
www.wbur.org/news/2026/01...

Judge says construction on Vineyard Wind can resume A federal judge issued a temporary pause on a Trump administration order that halted construction on Vineyard Wind in late December. The project is 95% complete and already generating power for the Ne...

Story: www.wbur.org/news/2026/01...

#BREAKING: Vineyard Wind is allowed to get back to work.

Just now, a federal judge issued a stay on the Trump administration's order halting work on Vineyard wind.

This is the 4th offshore wind project to win an injunction against the administration's order

@wbur.org

Vineyard Wind to argue in federal court for getting back to work ASAP The developer behind a large offshore wind farm near Massachusetts will try to convince a federal judge on Tuesday to allow construction on the project to resume.

More than a month after the Trump administration halted work on 5 offshore wind farms, Vineyard Wind (the project closest to completion) will be court today. The company is asking for a temporary restraining order so it can get back to work #energysky

www.wbur.org/news/2026/01...

Why your energy bills are higher than ever "As things stand now, ratepayers bear the cost of the transition to clean energy on top of the cost to prop up the aging gas system," writes Frederick Hewett. "The choice policymakers face is to inves...

Great piece by @fhcamb.bsky.social: Are climate policies the reason your utility bills are high? Yes and no. But scaling them back, he argues, isn't going to save you money either.

www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/...

Thank you for supporting WBUR and our journalism!

Affordability is scrambling energy politics in Massachusetts Everyone agrees that the state has an energy bill crisis. But there is little consensus on why — or how to fix the increasingly acute problem.

Everyone in MA agrees there's an energy affordability crisis. But not everyone agrees why.

Nice piece from Sarah Shemkus @canarymedia.com www.canarymedia.com/articles/pol...

😳

This marks a good step forward in the transition toward a clean power system for the Northeast.

What I have seen in my work as a scientist studying this topic is that transmission like this will likely reduce US' reliance on gas & help the region make the most of its cheap renewable resources.

A decade in the making, clean energy power line for Mass. is up and running A major new transmission line that can bring renewable electricity from Quebec to Massachusetts is finally, after a whole lot of controversy and delay, starting to deliver power.

After 10 years of controversy, lawsuits, and even a ballot referendum, the New England Clean Energy Connect is up and running 🔌

With a capacity of 1,200 megawatts, the new line can satisfy 20% of Massachusetts' electricity needs. www.wbur.org/news/2026/01... @wbur.org #energysky

Vineyard Wind sues Trump administration for halting construction Vineyard Wind, a large and nearly complete offshore wind farm near Massachusetts, says the Trump administration violated the law when it ordered a construction pause in December.

It's big day for offshore wind! Just hours after a judge ruled Empire Wind could resume construction, Vineyard Wind jumped on the lawsuit bandwagon

Now, all 5 projects that were halted by the Trump admin in December have pushed back www.wbur.org/news/2026/01... @wbur.org

Story 👇 www.wbur.org/news/2026/01...

#BREAKING: Vineyard Wind, a large and nearly complete offshore wind project off the Massachusetts coast is suing the Trump administration for pausing construction last month.
@wbur.org

It's stories like this that make me extra proud to say I work at @wbur.org

The immigration team got so many documents and did some impressive shoe-leather reporting. And, to top it all off, they turned it all into a enjoyable read.

Give this story a read, people!

Trump administration moves to revoke key permit from another offshore wind project proposed near Mass. This represents the latest move by the Trump administration to target the offshore wind industry in the U.S., and it comes just a few weeks after the government was allowed to reopen the same permit a...

The Trump administration is asking a federal judge for permission to re-open a major permit for New England Wind 1 & 2, a pair of offshore wind projects near MA.

Last month, a judge allowed the administration to do this for a different MA wind project @wbur www.wbur.org/news/2025/12...

Moulton says 'inhumane' conditions persist for detainees at ICE Burlington office Moulton said people are still sleeping on the floors, as there are no cots. But there are fewer people being held there -- about 10, down from close to 50 in June.

MA Rep. Seth Moulton said he would continue to press ICE to improve conditions at Burlington, adding "there's no excuse that they have not had sleeping mats from June until now." @wbur.org @moulton.house.gov www.wbur.org/news/2025/12...

Moulton says 'inhumane' conditions persist for detainees at ICE Burlington office Moulton said people are still sleeping on the floors, as there are no cots. But there are fewer people being held there -- about 10, down from close to 50 in June.

Per @moulton.house.gov - Conditions have not changed at Burlington ICE facility @miriamwasser.bsky.social @wbur.org www.wbur.org/news/2025/12...

More than 400 hazardous sites in New England at risk for coastal flooding, new study finds In New England, the majority of sites are located in Massachusetts, followed by Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine and New Hampshire. More than half of the sites at risk are industrial facilities.

Massachusetts has 209 (!!) potentially toxic sites along the coast that are vulnerable to coastal flooding.

A sobering story from @vivianla.bsky.social www.wbur.org/news/2025/11...

As Mass. pushes for big batteries on the grid, some communities push back Massachusetts officials says batteries will bring down energy costs and help the grid run on more renewables. But there's a growing movement of people who say they don't want this technology in their ...

Battery storage is a key part of Massachusetts' plan to make the grid more reliable, affordable, and green 🔋

But increasingly, developers proposing projects are meeting a strong wall of local opposition 🪫

www.wbur.org/news/2025/11... @wbur.org #energysky

Here in Belém at the conference hall it smells like smoke and burning plastic.

Very on the nose that there's a fire at the climate conference in the Amazon.

Quite a few people, actually. I talked to several MA residents who said they don't think lithium-ion batteries are safe, and that we shouldn't build BESS projects anywhere in the state.

As Mass. pushes for big batteries on the grid, some communities push back Massachusetts officials says batteries will bring down energy costs and help the grid run on more renewables. But there's a growing movement of people who say they don't want this technology in their ...

Massachusetts' goals for grid-scale battery storage faces a growing challenge: The anti-battery movement sweeping the state and country 🔌💡 @wbur.org

www.wbur.org/news/2025/11...

Someone you know relies on SNAP. They just don't talk about it Two years before she went on public assistance, Joanna Rakoff had a best-selling novel that won literary awards. She presented like a middle class working mom. But in reality, she was struggling — wor...

Make sure you read this important and powerful essay from @joannarakoff.bsky.social in @cogwbur.bsky.social

www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/...