A Day After Blackouts, Romney Names Paul G. Afonso As Chairman Of Department Of Telecommunications And Energy
Announces task force to look into state's preparedness to deal with massive power failure

...(Governor) Romney also announced the formation of a task force led by Afonso and comprised of industry and state officials to look into the state's preparedness to deal with a similar catastrophe and determine if any new measures are necessary to keep power disruptions from spreading.

"We are fortunate that we were not severely affected by the power outages,'said Romney. "The New England power grid worked as it should have, cutting ties to other regional grids and isolating our area, but we need to take stock of what happened and take precautions as necessary."

--above text is an excerpt from Press Release, Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Massachusetts Nuclear Highlights

• In 2008, the State of Massachusetts ranked 29th in nuclear capacity and 29th in nuclear generation. Monthly and cumulative nuclear generation and annual nuclear capacity for each State and each reactor is reported in a table elsewhere on this site.
• According to the Energy Information Administration’s State Electricity Profiles, four of the five largest electric power plants in Massachusetts rely on fossil fuels. The hydro plant at Northfield Mountain, ranked 3 rd is the exception. Brayton Point, the largest power plant, relies on natural gas, petroleum, and coal. With a capacity of 1,538 net megawatts, it is more than twice the size of 6 th ranked Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant. Nuclear and renewable fuels (such as hydropower) avoid significant Nitrogen oxide or sulfur dioxide emissions.
• In 2000, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ranked 10 th highest among the 50 States and the District of Columbia in electricity prices.

Nuclear Generation in Massachusetts, 1960 through 2003 Million Kilowatt Hours

Sources: Energy Information Administration, State Energy Data Report 1999, and Electric Power Annual, Volume 1, 2001, and EIA Survey Form 906.

Competing Fuels

In 2007, natural gas accounted for over half of the electricity generated by the State. The percentage of electricity generated by coal, gas, nuclear, and hydropower for each state with at least one commercial reactor is reported in the Electricity Market table.

License Renewal 

According to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), a license renewal application has not yet been received for the Pilgrim reactor, but one is anticipated in December 2004.

Information on the current status of all license renewal applications appears on the NRC web site at http://www.nrc.gov .  To locate the data, select "index,"then select the letter "l"and click on "License Renewal."

Air Quality in Massachusetts

Total greenhouse emissions for the electric power industry of each of the 50 States and the District of Columbia, are reported for the most current data year.

Of the 50 States plus the District of Columbia, the electric industry of the State of Massachusetts ranked 34th highest in carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in 2007. The State's electric industry ranked 32nd highest in sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emissions and 39th highest in nitrogen oxide (NO_x) emissions.

Where to Go Next (your choice)

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