Clean energy bill passes in Senate, awaits House vote

The Senate on Oct. 24 approved a compromise bill to reform the process for siting and permitting clean energy infrastructure at the local and state level.

Following the Senate vote, the bill was initially delayed in the House due to a lack of a quorum. House leaders said they intend to enact the legislation in a special formal session later in November, likely when the chamber also takes up an economic development bond bill.

The compromise bill passed by the Senate had been released by a House-Senate conference committee, which reconciled differences between two similar bills passed earlier this year in the House and Senate.

The bill includes recommendations from the Commission on Energy Infrastructure Siting and Permitting intended to help expedite the development of clean energy infrastructure across Massachusetts.

The bill would require all cities and towns to approve small clean energy infrastructure project applications through a mandated consolidated permitting process within 12 months. Should a municipality not act within that time frame, the permit would be automatically approved, allowing the project to operate under standard conditions. Small clean energy infrastructure is defined as generation projects under 25 megawatts and clean energy infrastructure storage projects under 100 megawatt hours.

Permitting for large clean energy projects would also follow a consolidated process overseen by a reformed Energy Facilities Siting Board, with approvals due within 15 months of receipt of a complete application.

As the Commonwealth strives to reach a net zero greenhouse gas emissions target by 2050 through a range of initiatives, including shifting energy generation to sources like wind and solar while electrifying transportation and heating and cooling systems in buildings, the clean energy bill is intended to advance these goals by expediting upgrades to the electric grid and speeding up review and approval of clean energy generation and storage projects at the state and local level.

The bill also proposes the following related to clean energy siting and permitting:
• Establishment of a public participation office, with support for intervenors and community engagement
• Guidance on community benefit agreements to support municipalities as they consider proposed project impacts and community needs and as they navigate the community benefit agreement processes
• Creation of a new clean energy infrastructure dashboard
• Changes to the Energy Facilities Siting Board membership to include a representative of the MMA and a representative of the Massachusetts Association of Regional Planning Agencies
• Establishment of a “site suitability methodology” to minimize or mitigate the social and environmental impacts of clean energy infrastructure projects

Additional provisions include the following:
• Electric distribution companies would be required to provide discounted rates for low-income and eligible moderate-income customers.
• The Department of Public Utilities would be able to consider alternatives to natural gas service and the state’s compliance with statewide emissions limits when reviewing requests to expand gas service.
• A special legislative commission would be established to make recommendations on extended producer responsibility policies.
• An embodied carbon intergovernmental coordinating council would be created to make recommendations on how building and transportation projects can reduce emissions from construction materials such as cement, concrete, steel, glass, asphalt, and wood.
• A new special commission would study workforce impacts on fossil fuel workers and increase access to training and workforce opportunities in clean energy industries.
• Technical guidance would be provided to municipalities on how aggregation programs may enter long-term contracts to purchase electricity from offshore wind developers.
• Guidance would be provided on the public health, safety and environmental impacts of electric battery storage and electric vehicle chargers.
• A new initiative would monitor electric vehicle chargers and charging stations.
• A feasibility study would be conducted on the electric-vehicle-only sales mandate that becomes effective in 2035.

Once the bill is finalized, the state is expected to initiate several regulatory processes to outline the details and rules of the bill’s proposed processes and initiatives.

Written by Josie Ahlberg, MMA Legislative Analyst and Adrienne Núñez, MMA Legislative Analyst