Power play: New England's Electric system's future looks bright.

PositionFEATURE

We use it to do brain surgery and to do our laundry. To heat our homes, cool our beers and watch the Patriots on TV. New Englanders will always need electricity. But over the next 40 years, where that power comes from, how we get it and when we use it will change dramatically.

New England's electric system is at a critical turning point. The fossil fuel-fired power plants that once provided the majority of our region's electricity are nearing the end of their useful lives--90% of New England's oil-fired generators and all of its seven remaining coal plants are more than 30 years old. Challenged in the market by cheaper, cleaner and more plentiful fuel sources and burdened by obsolete technology, these fossil fuel-fired power plants are no longer economically viable and will soon go the way of the dinosaur The region's nuclear facilities, including the leaky Vermont Yankee, are also facing end-of-life issues.

THE REGULATION FACTOR

Meanwhile, the federal government continues to tighten standards for emissions from power plants based on undisputed evidence of the hazards from pollutants like sulfur dioxide, fine particles and mercury. These public health concerns are playing a role in evolving the electric system as our aging oil and coal plants consider--in the face of increasing price pressure from natural gas--whether to invest in modernizing their facilities to comply with tighter environmental regulations, or retire. The region's nuclear power plants--some of which, at more than 60 years old, have already far surpassed the life span they were designed for--are facing more intense scrutiny in the wake of Japan's Fukushima disaster. But what will replace these old facilities, more than 8000 megawatts of power that once comprised the backbone of our system? When? And at what cost?

NATURAL GAS LEADS ... FOR NOW

For the first time in our lifetimes, the cheapest resources are also the cleanest ones energy efficiency, demand response and, for the foreseeable future, natural gas. Natural gas-fired power plants generate 43% of New England's electricity today and its role is expected to only grow in importance over the next decade as the region's aging fleet of oil, coal and nuclear power plants retires. While cheaper, more efficient and cleaner-burninq than the region's dirty incumbents, natural gas is not without its own problems. Because natural gas is used to provide heat as well as power, its availability for electricity can be reduced during...

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