My Turn: The selling of New England’s river STAFF PHOTO/MARY BYRNE STAFF PHOTO/MARY BYRNE
Modified: 12/11/2020 2:45:37 PM
On Nov. 12 FirstLight and broker Energy New England sent out a paid press release with a Twitter link on Businesswire: “21 New England Municipal Electric Utilities Commit to Historic Purchase of Clean Power From FirstLight Through ENE.” Formatted like news, it hyped agreements overwhelmingly to eastern Massachusetts towns, for future electricity exports. It boasted big complex numbers, long-term megawatts and clean, renewable hydropower sales to towns 100 miles from the source.
Factually, if all that hyped power was directed to the coastal town of Hingham (pop. circa 23,000) on that list, all 20 others, including tiny outliers in Vermont and Rhode Island, would be left in the dark.