A sweeping comprehensive energy measure that would void Eversource’s new consumer demand charge for solar panels, remove the solar net metering cap, triple the Renewable Portfolio Standard annual increase and triple procurement of offshore wind to 5,000 megawatts, passed the state Senate this week, with several amendments brought by Sen. Adam Hinds, D-Pittsfield.
The bill, which now awaits House action, includes provisions that would require the state Department of Utilities to consider alternatives to pipelines to minimize public land taking and to include resident groups, municipalities and elected officials as official intervenors in its process.
The omnibus legislation, which passed 35-0, would have measurable benefits in the health of the global environment, according to Hinds.
“This legislation prepares Massachusetts for the inevitable obstacles that will come with climate change,” said Hinds, whose predecessor, Sen. Ben Downing, was instrumental in advocating for the Senate’s last omnibus energy bill in 2016. “Its policies and programs will protect public health, increase the use of renewable energy, reduce greenhouse emissions, implement a price on carbon, and create jobs in the innovative green-energy economy.”
The legislation also authorizes the most comprehensive carbon pricing program in the country, according to Sen. Mike Barrett, D-Lexington, with the Senate becoming the first legislative body in the nation to approve revenue-neutral fees as a carbon pricing option. If signed into law, Massachusetts would become only the second state, after California, to extend the concept of carbon pricing to transportation. Without imposing a specific blueprint, it calls for carbon pricing of some kind for the transportation sector by the end of 2020, for commercial and industrial buildings and processes by the end of 2021, and for residential buildings by the end of 2022.
The House “is looking to what the Senate has done,” said Rep. Stephen Kulik, D-Worthington, who has sponsored the DPU reform legislation and has advocated for renewable energy issues in that chamber. “I’m hoping this is a good opportunity for the House to address these issues. There’s not a lot of time in this session to do significant bills. But I have a lot of interest in doing as much as I can” once budget deliberations are over — expected by the end of this month.
During Thursday’s debate, Hinds won passage of three amendments to reform aspects of DPU proceedings regarding gas pipeline contracts and to ensure heavy energy-using employers in low-income areas and Gateway Cities are not disproportionally impacted by the implementation of new climate change and renewable energy regulations in Massachusetts.
On the Senate floor, he cited, as an example of why DPU reform is needed, Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co.’s successful efforts to run a portion of its 13-mile Connecticut Expansion Project through Otis State Forest, above the objections of residents, local, state and federal officials, and despite Article 97 public open-space protections.
One Hinds amendment, echoing a bill filed in the House by Kulik, would set new standards the state DPU must consider when reviewing gas pipeline contracts to ensure ratepayers and private and public land are protected. It mandates the DPU take into consideration the project’s impacts on public health, the environment and climate change. And it would require the DPU to grant “intervenor status” to ratepayer municipalities, state legislators and groups of 50 or more ratepayers of the utility who wish to closely follow ongoing DPU gas pipeline proceedings.
Hinds’ other amendments would ensure that investments in renewable energy identify and mitigate negative impacts on manufacturing, economic sectors and individual employers as a result of carbon pricing and direct the state’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs reporting to consider impacts of climate change regulations on economically distressed areas.
Passage of the legislation brought swift comment from a variety of solar and environmental advocates, including the trade group Solar Energy Industries Association, which says the state lost 21 percent of its solar jobs from 2016 to 2017.
“This bill fixes policies that have caused one of Massachusetts’ strongest industries to shed jobs and stifle businesses and consumers who want to go solar,” said Sean Gallagher, SEIA’s vice president of state affairs in a written statement. “We commend the state Senate for advancing this legislation, and we urge the House to do its part. By taking up key parts of this bill, the House can help bring thousands of solar jobs back to the Bay State, unlock millions of dollars of investment currently in limbo, and prevent consumers from being charged discriminatory fees when they embrace solar and other renewables.”
SEIA projects that without the changes, Massachusetts is projected to see a drop in solar installations this year because of stalled projects due to the state’s net metering caps.
Sean Garren, northeast senior director for the advocacy group Vote Solar, said, “The Senate today passed a bill that would leap Massachusetts back into contention as a national leader on clean energy. By setting a higher bar for renewable energy and removing barriers to citizens’ right to choose solar, the bill will put thousands to work delivering cleaner air, a safer climate and stronger local economies. Vote Solar applauds the Senate’s leadership on climate and clean energy and urges the House to swiftly act on this critical legislation.”
Massachusetts Sierra Club Chapter Director Emily Norton said, “The bill passed by the Massachusetts Senate tonight demonstrates true leadership when it comes to taking action on climate change. More clean energy means cleaner air, healthier communities, stable energy prices and local, good-paying jobs in our region. We will now turn our attention to the Massachusetts House to urge them to take up and pass this critical energy legislation as soon as possible so it can go to the governor’s desk for his signature. There is no time to wait.”