The Massachusetts Senate’s new energy efficiency legislation has been broadly welcomed by US solar industry and clean energy representatives.
Passed yesterday, the bill—S. 3143—introduces a range of measures that the Senate said are designed to save consumers up to US$14 billion on energy bills, including upfront financing support for residential solar and energy storage systems and measures for flexible energy procurement to avoid seasonal price spikes and swings.
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The US Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) said it “applauds” the legislation. Ruthie DeWit, Northeast state affairs director at SEIA, said: “Today’s action positions the Commonwealth to be able to meet growing electricity demand with affordable, homegrown energy. The bill’s focus on more flexible interconnection and modernised, automated residential permitting processes will reduce unnecessary delays, lower project costs, and deliver more affordable, reliable electricity to families and businesses.”
She continued: “This legislation takes meaningful steps to accelerate project development, strengthen grid reliability, and keep electricity costs affordable while reinforcing the Commonwealth’s leadership on clean energy. We appreciate the Senate’s leadership and look forward to continuing the conversation with the conference committee.”
As well as backing distributed solar and energy storage, the bill proposes to cut the fees ratepayers pay to utilities, reduce utilities’ spending on the Gas System Enhancement Program and investigate “unnecessary price markups by electric companies.”
US environmental group the Sierra Club has praised some aspects of the Senate’s bill, particularly the changes it made to soften the previous legislative proposal from the state House of Representatives. The bill preserves the Mass Save energy transition scheme, from which the House had previously sought to cut US$1 billion.
The Sierra Club also praised the removal of outright support for fossil fuel plants: “We see fewer attacks on renewable energy, energy efficiency, or outright support for doubling down on expanding gas/fossil fuel infrastructure that was in the bill originally put forward by House energy chair Mark Cusack,” the group said.
However, the group said the legislation “introduces greenwashed solutions for gas” by enabling utilities to sell “renewable natural gas” on a new rate, and does not go far enough to protect ratepayers from “utility profiteering” or limit the potentially negative impacts of data centres.
You can read the Sierra Club’s full analysis of the bill here and find the Senate’s record of amendments here.
