Boston Globe, NYTimes, etc: Massachusetts aims to move past Calif in green & efficient electricity use

The Tracker is so accustomed to boasting about the golden state’s leadership on electrical and many other energy efficiency metrics that it was bracing to see a competition brewing. Several outlets reported Friday that Massachusetts is adopting measures aimed at taking it past California as low-carbon champion among our not entirely United States. What is odd is that the news got much bigger play in an out-of-state (if huge, national) newspaper than in the local press – plus via the AP’s Boston bureau.

Heaviest coverage came, no surprise here with its tremendous focus on energy and environment coverage, from the NYTimes. Leslie Kaufman presents news of the state’s energy efficiency “aim to be the most ambitious in nation’ with some stats and examples of the subsidies and other means by which this is to occur. She picks up from ‘a written statement’ and that means press release a state leader’s declaration that energy efficiency is now the Commonwealth’s “first fuel,” a pretty snappy coinage. It’s not a long story, but it’s economically packed with information.

By contrast a NYTimes property, the Boston Globe, ran only a rather brief piece by Erin Ailworth. It does have the key numbers that might convince residents that the $2.2 billion cost of the program by utility and state funds (rebates, etc.) should be more than offset by an estimated $6 billion in electrical bill savings -eventually.

Other stories:

• Worcester Business Journal – Brandon Butler: State, Utilities To Expand Efficiency Programs By $2.2B ;
• AP (via Worcester Telegram) Jay Lindsay: Energy plan aims for top state rank ;

See also:

• Berkshire Eagle (editorial): State’s bold energy program ; As the federal gov’t wobbles on energy, states must resume their leadership – and this one takes a swipe at a libertarian think tank.

One wonders whether and where the Cape wind farm fits into this matrix.

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