During the harshest days of the late 2017 to early 2018 cold snap, oil accounted for more than 30 percent of New England’s energy mix, the Boston Globe editorial board writes.
For a region that prides itself as a leader against climate change, the numbers were sobering: As recently as Monday, 19 percent of New England’s energy supply came from oil, and 7 percent from coal, according to the grid operator. Rates had climbed even higher on the worst days of the recent cold spell, when power plants in New England burned tons of the dirtiest fuels available. On some days, oil accounted for more than 30 percent of the region’s energy mix.