Solar Industry Magazine: Massachusetts Readies Energy Storage Targets

The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources is pushing forward to establish energy storage procurement goals in the state after the agency found such targets “prudent.”

In August, Gov. Charlie Baker, R-Mass., signed a comprehensive energy law that, among other actions, directed the DOER to determine “whether to set appropriate targets for electric companies to procure viable and cost-effective energy storage systems.”

Under the legislation, the DOER had until the end of 2016 to reach its conclusion, and on Dec. 27, DOER Commissioner Judith Judson sent state lawmakers a letter saying, “After careful review and consideration of the comments received, DOER has determined that it is prudent for the commonwealth to set targets for energy storage systems.”

T. Boone Pickens on LinkedIn: How to Make America Great Again With Domestic Energy Resources

Forecasting the future is always risky and never easy, but I suppose I’m no stranger to it and my approach is always the same. I listen to smart people, learn everything I can, take stock of what I know, and the use the judgment I’ve built from experience to make a bet.

Over a lifetime in business I’ve had to make a lot of tough calls – right and wrong, and many of them very public. Good calls have made me a lot of money, and I’ve lost my ass on the bad ones.

Fortunately, I’ve been right more often than I’ve been wrong.

However, at 88 years old, I’m not as concerned with being right about the future as I am with making it better. That’s why I launched The Pickens Plan eight and a half years ago. I knew then I had more history behind me than I did ahead, but I made it my mission to help break our nation’s historic and dangerous dependence on OPEC oil that threatens our economy, our environment and our national security.

Money: Ford Cancels Mexico Plant, Will Create 700 U.S. Jobs in 'Vote of Confidence' in Trump

Ford is canceling plans to build a new plant in Mexico. It will invest $700 million in Michigan instead, creating 700 new U.S. jobs.

Ford CEO Mark Fields said the investment is a "vote of confidence" in the pro-business environment being created by Donald Trump. However, he stressed Ford did not do any sort of special deal with the president-elect.

"We didn't cut a deal with Trump. We did it for our business," Fields told CNN's Poppy Harlow in an exclusive interview Tuesday.

Tom Werner, CEO of SunPower, at the Huffington Post: 2017 Will Be a Pragmatic Year for Solar

When it comes to the state of global energy markets, we can all agree that uncertainty is the new normal. Betting on one energy source over another has proven to be unwise, and it is impossible to predict where the market will take us next.

Just over a year ago, more than 190 nations came together to finalize the COP21 agreement, which was the culmination of decades of disparate negotiations to embrace clean energy sources as the most practical means to reduce carbon emissions.

For solar, one might expect such an event to be the catalyst for growth, yet there are other factors at work.

We’ve seen a meteoric rise in solar adoption over the past five years, largely due to a combination of free-market forces, sensible public policies and private-sector innovation. This progress is an example of how government can play a supportive role, but also let the market do what it does best.

I’ve always believed that solar is a non-partisan energy source. At the core, it is largely an issue of consumer choice, customization and economics, not unlike high-tech or automotive innovation.