Solar Required on New Commercial Buildings in Watertown, Massachusetts

Watertown, Massachusetts now requires solar power with all new commercial construction and retrofits of structures greater than 10,000 sq feet – as well all structures that include ten or more residential units.

Solar power as a required part of new construction is starting to catch hold. Last year, we saw South Miami mandate 2.75 kW of solar for every 1000 square feet on new homes. Prior to that it’d been a few cities within California (Lancaster led the way in 2013, with Sebastopol, Santa Monica, and San Francisco) requiring solar with new construction. Now, of course, we live in a time where the whole of the State of California has set a requirement for all new low-rise residential construction to have solar in 2020, and there is much speculation on what that might do to lower installation costs.

Newton, Mass Signs Historic Green Energy Contract

Newton, Mass has signed an historic contract for all of the city’s electricity customers that is 60 percent from local renewable sources such as solar and wind, significantly reducing Newton’s carbon footprint while also cutting the price customers pay.

This is an additional 46 percent above the state mandate for renewables.

Today’s decision makes Newton the community with the highest percentage of additional local renewable electricity of any municipal aggregation program in Massachusetts. Of the 40 cities and towns with municipal aggregation programs, the closest to Newton’s 60 percent is Brookline’s 39 percent.

Mass. Lawmakers Set Storage Target, Raise RPS, Overturn Rooftop Solar Demand Charge

It was a big day for distributed energy. But the solar industry didn’t get everything that it wanted.

The Massachusetts legislature passed a compromise energy bill Tuesday evening with several wins for the clean energy industry.

The bill raises the renewable portfolio standard, such that the state’s renewable energy supply will need to increase by 2 percent annually from 2020 through 2029, before reverting back to 1 percent. The language also authorizes the study of an additional 1,600 megawatts of offshore wind.

Community Power State Scorecard Comparison — 2018 vs. 2017

Earlier this spring, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance released its 2018 Community Power State Scorecard, revealing the the best and worst states for local clean energy across the country.

Did many states improve on their 2017 score?

The latest rankings used a very similar methodology to last year’s interactive Community Power Map, notably increasing the points awarded for a state’s community or sharable renewable program and adding (or subtracting) points for the ease (or difficulty) of connecting to the grid under the state’s rules.

Massachusetts and Rhode Island Contract for 1,200MW of Offshore Wind

Massive new projects put New England states on the forefront of the U.S. offshore wind market.

Massachusetts and Rhode Island, two states on the forefront of the nascent U.S. offshore wind market, have awarded a combined 1,200 megawatts of contracts to build out what could become the country’s largest offshore wind complex. 

Solar industry Lobbies for Greater Legislative Support in Massachusetts

Clamoring for “long-term stable growth” in their sector, solar industry workers rallied Wednesday for changes that would make it easier and more economical for people to support renewable energy.

After some boom years, employment in the Massachusetts solar industry has dipped, losing about 3,000 jobs in the past two years. The industry now employs 11,500 people in Massachusetts.

“This is still in the early frames of our growth as an industry,” said Zaid Ashai, chairman and CEO of Nexamp, a solar company. He told supporters outside the State House, “It needs to be long-term stable growth.”

Massachusetts Rejects Smart Meter Rollouts, as Competitive Energy Undermines the Business Case

How customers migrating to third-party and municipal electric services have put National Grid, Unitil and Eversource’s AMI plans in question.

Massachusetts regulators see a future in which customers are leaving investor-owned utilities for municipal aggregators and competitive third-party suppliers, and they aren't sure how to fit mass-market smart meter deployments into that future. 

Advocates Seek More Momentum for Massachusetts Offshore Wind

Clean energy advocates say offshore wind is not being taken seriously enough as an option amid discussions of transmission lines and natural gas pipelines.

Coastal Massachusetts is blustery enough that a robust offshore wind system could power a residential and commercial electricity load that is 20 times larger than exists today.

Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target “SMART” Incentive

Current Massachusetts solar policies are changing and the current SREC program is being replaced by a new Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target “SMART” program which is expected to be implemented by March 31, 2018.  If you are already in the SREC program, you will remain in the program, with no changes to your SREC account.

MA Governor Embraces ‘Clean Peak’ Policy to Encourage Renewables Paired With Storage

Governor Baker’s proposed bill would leverage the state’s renewable power at peak hours, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and system costs.

Gov. Charlie Baker has introduced a bill to use more clean energy during Massachusetts’ hours of peak grid demand.

The governor included language in a proposed bill to allocate $1.4 billion toward climate adaptation and environmental stewardship. The so-called Clean Peak Standard would require a minimum level of clean energy to supply the most expensive 10 percent of grid hours each year.

Solar Industry Riled by DPU Approval of New Infrastructure Fee in Boston

Eversource utility customers who install solar panels a year from now will be on the hook for new fees under a new Department of Public Utilities order that is generating controversy within the renewable energy industry.

The new charges will cast a shadow over the solar market, according to an industry representative, although a top Baker administration official described the order as “balanced,” weighing the need for new investments in electrical infrastructure with protections for electricity customers.

Massachusetts Announces More Energy Storage Grants

Last week, the Baker-Polito Administration awarded $20 million in grants to support 26 energy storage projects in 25 Massachusetts communities. The grant program, Advancing Commonwealth Energy Storage (ACES), is part of the state’s ongoing Energy Storage Initiative, which includes a range of energy storage policy efforts. It puts the state clearly in the storage leadership role on the U.S. East Coast.

Mass. Pushing Ahead With Renewable Energy Initiative

Proposals are flooding in to help Massachusetts ramp up its reliance on renewable energy, including solar, wind and hydropower.

The state has received nearly four dozen bids for a contract to add more renewable power to its energy portfolio — enough to power nearly 200,000 homes. The aim is to reduce Massachusetts’ reliance on fossil fuels and greenhouse gas-emitting power plants, major contributors to climate change.

Brookline Launches Renewable Energy Program With Opt-Out System

Rolling out this month is an optional electricity program for residents and business owners that promotes renewable energy use.

Brookline Green Electricity is a community aggregation program designed to give residents and business owners the opportunity to sign up for one of three plans, which offer different levels of renewable energy at fixed rates for 30 months.

The program takes advantage of a state goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050, according to Maria Morelli, a senior planner at Brookline’s Department of Planning and Community Development.

The Long-Awaited Massachusetts Energy Storage Target Has Arrived

Basketball fans have March Madness, political junkies get a big election every four years, and the Oscars roll around every February. For energy storage buffs, moments of collective anticipation are harder to come by.

Friday is as good as it gets, thanks to the long-awaited release of Massachusetts' energy storage procurement target. Following a law passed last summer, the Department of Energy Resources took until the close of 2016 to decide a target was a good idea, and then had until July to name a number.

And the number is: 200 megawatt-hours by 2020.

Massachusetts Preps for US Offshore Wind Construction Boom

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), a ratepayer funded research organization that works to accelerate the success of clean energy technologies, companies and projects in the state, last week announced plans to conduct a study of potential offshore wind construction facilities in Massachusetts. The Offshore Wind Ports & Infrastructure Assessment will review underdeveloped waterfront sites in Massachusetts that could potentially be acquired and developed through private investment to support both near-term and long-term offshore wind activities.

Activists Hope Massachusetts Can Go Fossil Fuel-Free by 2050

Massachusetts environmentalists have long dreamed of a green future in which the state shakes off its reliance on fossil fuels. Now they have a date: 2050.

That’s just three decades away, but backers of the effort, including dozens of Beacon Hill lawmakers, say it’s realistic, provided the state starts carving out a path to that future now.

A bill filed by Sen. Jamie Eldridge, of Acton, and Reps. Sean Garballey, of Arlington, and Marjorie Decker, of Cambridge — all Democrats — would commit Massachusetts to obtaining 100 percent of its energy from renewable sources like solar and wind.

Massachusetts Lawmakers Sponsor 100% Renewable Energy Bill

Massachusetts could become the first state in America to be powered entirely by renewable energy. Lawmakers recently introduced a bill that would require an economy-wide transition to obtaining power via clean sources like wind and solar, and 53 state legislators from both the House and the Senate have shown support for the measure.

The bill, SD. 1932, also known as the 100 Percent Renewable Energy Act, would set targets of electricity generation via 100 percent renewables by 2035; other sectors like transportation and heating would have until 2050 to make the switch. Over a quarter of legislature members in Massachusetts have now cosponsored the bill, which has been promoted by environmental advocacy group Environment Massachusetts. The organization’s state director Ben Hellerstein said in a statement, “Now is the time for Massachusetts to go big on clean energy. Getting to 100 percent renewable energy is 100 percent possible – and it’s 100 percent necessary.”

Mass. Legislators Propose 100% Renewable Energy Mandate

Massachusetts lawmakers have proposed legislation that calls for the state to adopt a 100% renewable portfolio standard, according to Environment Massachusetts, a clean energy advocacy group.

Under the legislation, filed by State Rep. Sean Garballey, D-Arlington; Rep. Marjorie Decker, D-Cambridge; and State Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton, Massachusetts would be required to achieve 100% renewable electricity generation by 2035, as well as phase out the use of fossil fuels across all sectors, including heating and transportation, by 2050.

The States Most Friendly to Rooftop Solar, Ranked

There’s been some jockeying at the top in the latest rankings from Solar Power Rocks.

For those of you sick of those year-end lists of best movies and music, here's a slight change of pace.

Solar research and advocacy group Solar Power Rocks released its 2017 ranking of the states most friendly to rooftop solar Friday, based on a compilation of state renewables policies and incentives. 

Massachusetts retained top honors, shaking off New York and New Jersey, which had split the gold three ways last year. Eleven states earned failing grades, with Oklahoma, Alabama and Mississippi rounding out the bottom three.