Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
On July 17, the House approved a bill that would reform the process for siting and permitting clean energy infrastructure such as solar arrays, wind turbines and battery storage.
The Senate passed a largely similar version of the bill on June 25.
Both bills include a requirement for all cities and towns to approve small clean energy infrastructure project applications through a consolidated permitting process within 12 months. Should a municipality not act on the permit within that time frame, the permit would be automatically approved, allowing the project to operate under standard conditions.
This local consolidated permitting process would apply to clean energy infrastructure generation projects under 25 megawatts and clean energy infrastructure storage projects under 100 megawatt hours. Regulations and guidance for this process would be developed by a new Division of Clean Energy Siting and Permitting housed within the Department of Energy Resources.
Through the proposed consolidated process, it’s unclear whether a municipality would be able to effectively deny a permit application, either in whole or in part, beyond simply determining compliance with standards that would be set through the rulemaking process.
This consolidation of the local permitting process was a central theme of the final recommendations of the 28-member Commission on Energy Infrastructure Siting and Permitting. The policy was not supported by the MMA during the commission’s work, and was a concern articulated to both the Senate and the House as they considered their legislation.
The MMA has long advocated for a local option for the consolidated permitting process at the local level, and supported amendments to create such a process for small clean energy projects. These amendments were not adopted in the final House and Senate versions.
The Senate adopted two amendments supported by the MMA: one to provide a technical correction to the definition of local government, and one to provide deadline relief for municipalities in the event they are unable to complete an approval within 12 months because an applicant fails to respond to information requests or changes major elements of the proposed project.
Both the House and Senate bills include several other proposals recommended by the Commission on Clean Energy Infrastructure Siting and Permitting, including:
• Creation of a public participation office, with support for intervenors and community engagement
• Clarification and simplification of electric school bus and supply procurement practices for municipalities
• Guidance on community benefit agreements to support municipalities as they consider permit application impacts and community needs, and as they navigate the community benefit agreement processes
• Creation of a new clean energy infrastructure dashboard
The bills propose reforms that would require the Energy Facilities Siting Board to approve large projects through a consolidated permitting process within 15 months. This would apply to clean energy infrastructure generation projects over 25 megawatts and clean energy storage projects over 100 megawatt hours.
The bills also would expand EFSB membership to include municipal representation, a concept long supported by the MMA. The final composition of the EFSB will need to be worked out in the House-Senate conference committee process.
Both climate bills propose the establishment of a “site suitability methodology” to minimize or mitigate the social and environmental impacts of clean energy infrastructure projects. Such a framework could be applied to all clean energy infrastructure projects, including those under local jurisdiction. Program details would be determined through a regulatory process under the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.
The Commonwealth is striving 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 House and Senate bills are 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 Senate adopted an amendment to expand the state’s bottle redemption law, an issue long-supported by the MMA, by including most beverage containers and increasing the 5-cent deposit to 10 cents per container. The House did not include this provision, and has yet to act on a separate Senate bill addressing plastic waste, which is before the House Ways and Means Committee.
Differences between the House and Senate bills will now need to be resolved through a conference committee before a final bill can be passed by the Legislature and sent to the governor.
Written by Josie Ahlberg, MMA Legislative Analyst and Adrienne Núñez, MMA Legislative Analyst