The Massachusetts House has released its redraft of a climate omnibus bill (H.4744). The bill includes provisions recommended by advocacy organizations, including Vote Solar, that would make the grid more resilient and more affordable, but it still calls for dramatic funding cuts to the Commonwealth’s nation-leading energy efficiency program. While many of the solar provisions in the bill will help to meet Massachusetts climate goals, the bill misses an opportunity to rein in costs by reducing fossil fuel spending and utility expenditures, Vote Solar officials say. Instead, the bill cuts Mass Save by $1 billion, focusing on a short-sighted cut instead of a long-term solution to address energy affordability.
Archive photo of a Navisun solar project in Massachusetts with pollinator-friendly ground cover.
Originally released in November of last year, bill H.4744 included meaningful solar advances that were overshadowed by provisions that would raise energy costs and increase fossil fuel dependence. Since November, organizations worked with legislators to present a path forward that could transform the bill into one focused on true energy affordability, ensuring that all communities benefit from its advantages. The bill includes many forward-thinking measures to advance local solar and work towards a distributed, resilient and affordable grid; however, it excludes solutions that address the true costs of rising utility bills.
“As extreme weather continues to leave thousands in the dark and drive up energy costs, we need long-term solutions that lock in an affordable clean energy future that benefits all residents — regardless of income,” said Lindsay Griffin, Vote Solar’s Northeast Regional Director. “This bill is a starting point for expanding local solar, which encourages resiliency and affordability, but it misses a critical piece to the solution, holding utilities accountable for prioritizing their profits over the communities they serve.”
The rewritten bill includes provisions that modernize solar deployment and grid participation across the state by streamlining permitting, improving interconnection, expanding municipal net metering and advancing virtual power plants. Smart Solar Permitting would accelerate deployment and reduce soft costs by adopting an instant permitting framework already used in more than 150 localities. The bill also introduces flexible interconnection to prevent small projects from being delayed in queues dominated by larger projects. The legislation also improves municipal net metering by increasing municipal capacity to 20 MW, helping solar on schools and government buildings come online. In addition, the bill mandates comprehensive virtual power plant (VPP) planning within existing regulatory processes, allowing homes and businesses with solar and storage to aggregate resources and support the grid during periods of high demand while delivering greater benefits to ratepayers.
“We greatly appreciate House leadership’s focus on facilitating the deployment of local solar by including provisions that would help meet Massachusetts’ climate goals. But we were disappointed to see that Mass Save — a program that has been critical to supporting families across the state — is being unfairly scapegoated,” said Elena Weissmann, Vote Solar’s Northeast Regional Director. “We hope that lawmakers will refocus efforts to rein in costs on utility spending and the buildout of gas infrastructure, not on an efficiency program that saves us all money.”
News item from Vote Solar
