Summary: S.30 An Act creating a next-generation roadmap for Massachusetts climate policy
** Summary provided by staff of the Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy**
PRIOR HISTORY:
● January 30, 2020 - the Senate passed S.2500, An Act setting next-generation climate policy.
● July 31, 2020 - the House passed H.4933, An Act creating a 2050 roadmap to a clean and thriving commonwealth.
● August 6, 2020 - a conference committee was appointed to reconcile the differences.
● January 4, 2021 - the conference committee report, S.2995, An Act creating a next-generation roadmap for Massachusetts climate policy, was passed by the Senate and the House and laid on the Governor’s desk.
● January 14, 2021 - Governor Baker vetoed the bill.
● January 19, 2021 - S.9, which contains identical language to S.2995, was filed in the 2021 - 2022 session.
● January 28, 2021 - the Senate and the House passed S.9.
● March 15, 2021 - the Senate adopted the governor's amendment in the form recommended by the Senate Committee on Third Reading (S.30).
● March 18, 2021 – Question comes before the House on the adoption of the Senate amendment (S. 30) in concurrence.
SUMMARY:
Roadmap – §§ 1 - 12, 90, 106 - 111
● Codifies a 2050 roadmap plan with a net zero emissions limit as well as interim 5 year roadmap plans and emissions limits. Authorizes EEA to use back-cast methodology.
● Statewide emissions must be reduced from 1990 levels by at least 50% in 2030, at least 75% in 2040, and at least 85% in 2050.
● Each roadmaps plan must improve or mitigate economic, environmental, and public health impacts on environmental justice populations and low- and moderate-income individuals.
● Requires sector-based emissions sublimits for electric power, transportation, commercial, industrial, and residential heating and cooling, industrial processes, and natural gas distribution and service. As long as the Commonwealth is reaching its goal for a given year, sector sublimits will not be legally binding for that same year, however, said sublimits will be binding for a given year if the state fails to meet the aggregate emissions limits.
● The EEA Secretary must indicate within 18 months of each five-year statewide emissions limits whether or not Massachusetts has met its emissions reduction requirements.
Offshore Wind - §§ 91 - 93, 95
● Increases requirement for offshore wind procurements by 2,400 megawatts (for a total of 5,600 megawatts in Massachusetts).
● Increases emphasis on economic development by adding Secretary of Housing & Economic Development to the process of reviewing offshore wind proposals.
● Authorizes DOER to require distribution companies to competitively solicit for cost-effective offshore wind energy transmission to deliver offshore wind power to shore.
RPS Increase – §§ 32
● Accelerates the Class I Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS), which requires electric utility companies to purchase increasing amounts of renewable energy on behalf of Massachusetts’ ratepayers:
○ Previous target: 35% by 2030 (set by 2018 An Act to Advance Clean Energy bill)
○ Increases to 40% by 2030
○ 1% increase annually thereafter
Opt-in Net Zero Energy Stretch Code – §§ 31, 71 - 73, 74A, 98A, 98B, 100
Municipal Light Plant Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standard (GGES) – §§ 33 - 34, 102, 112
● Codifies the requirement for all municipal light plants to achieve 50% non-emitting electricity by 2030, 75% by 2040, and net zero by 2050.
● Places five-year moratorium on biomass eligibility for the program and requires comprehensive study within two years regarding the greenhouse gas and public health impacts of biomass.
MassCEC Programming – §§ 14, 19; 100; 13
● Establishes new programs in the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center:
○ Workforce development with $12 million in annual funding to provide a pathway to working in clean energy for women and minority-owned small businesses, residents of environmental justice communities, and fossil fuel workers.
○ Training program for heating oil dealers to expand adoption of heat pumps, with funding from the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust Fund.
○ Funding authorization to research, design, and evaluate energy innovation programs. DOER must develop a municipal opt-in specialized energy stretch code that includes net-zero building performance standards and a definition of a net-zero building not later than 18 months from the passage of this act. DOER may phase in requirements for this specialized code based on building types, uses, or load profiles. A municipality in the Green Communities program that does not adopt the new municipal opt-in specialized energy stretch code shall not lose their designation as a Green Community.
Environmental Justice & Environmental Impact Report – §§ 56 – 60, 102A - 102C
● Codifies definition of “environmental justice population”, and allows for the percentage thresholds in the definition to be updated to ensure it continues to achieve the objectives of environmental justice principles.
○ The Environmental Justice Council, established by this Act, will inform this process by conducting demographic analysis, and must approve updates by majority approval.
● “Environmental justice population” is defined as a neighborhood that meets 1 or more of the following criteria:
○ Annual household median income < 65% of statewide annual median household income
○ Minorities comprise < 40% of the population
○ 25% or more of households lack English language proficiency
● An environmental impact report is required for projects located within 1 mile of an EJ population, or 5 miles of an EJ population if the project is likely to damage air quality.
● EEA secretary required to provide opportunities for meaningful public involvement to allow the public to assess environmental, health, and safety impact of proposed projects.
● EEA and its agencies must consider environmental justice principles in making any determination on projects to reduce potential unfair or inequitable impacts on an EJ population.
● Requires DEP to promulgate regulations within 180 days for environmental impact report sections and clarifies that new regulations will only be applied to projects filed after effective date of regulations.
● Requires DEP within 18 months of the act’s effective date to promulgate regulations requiring cumulative impact analyses for defined categories of air quality permits identified through an evaluation and public comment process.
Appliance Energy Efficiency – §§ 35 - 53; 113
● Updates state standards for common household and commercial appliances sold in the Commonwealth on or after January 1, 2022 to reduce energy and water consumption and increase energy efficiency.
Utility-Scale Renewable Thermal Energy – §§ 99
Allows the DPU to authorize one or more pilot projects to develop utility-scale renewable thermal energy. Fossil-based natural gas may not be blended with other fuels.
Low-Income Solar Provisions
● Codifies the requirement that the current SMART solar program authorized by the Legislature in 2016 provides equitable access and affordability to low-income households. Applies to any future programs created based on this legislative authorization. (§§ 94)
● Addresses barriers to participation in the state’s solar programs by low-income individuals by: ○ Eliminating restrictions on sharing solar net metering credits across utility service territories. (§§ 84)
● Creates a trust fund (low-income services solar program) that provides grants for solar technology for nonprofits that provide food security, homelessness, and emergency shelter. (§§ 54)
Other Solar Provisions
● Exempts a business or other non-governmental entity from the solar net metering cap limits that is installing a solar facility between 60 kilowatts to 2 megawatts in size that is located behind the customer’s meter and is designed to serve on-site electricity consumption. (§§ 85)
● Allows utilities to own solar projects if they're located on utility-owned land within a municipality that has given approval. The utilities shall conduct outreach efforts to promote projects in cities and towns that contain an environmental justice population and are at high risk to climate change impacts. Caps utility ownership at 10% of all solar installed in the state as of July 31, 2020. (§§ 77)
● Closes a gap in the net metering law to enable small municipal buildings less than 60 kilowatts to install rooftop solar. (§§ 82 - 83)
● Maintains the property tax exemption for residential and smaller solar and wind systems (serving up to 125% of a customer’s on-site load) and expands the exemption to projects paired with storage. Creates a framework for larger systems to execute PILOTs with municipalities, including DOR guidance on assessing taxes and the appropriate valuation of PILOTS. (§§ 61, 63, 97 - 98, 105, 114)
Gas Safety – §§ 75 - 76, 78 - 81, 86 - 89, 103 - 104
● Contractor certification and whistleblower protections - Requires the DPU to establish rules for evaluating contractor qualifications and also extends whistleblower protections for public utility employees of gas and electric companies.
● Fines - Increases the maximum fine that the DPU can levy against an electric or gas company for each violation of DPU’s rules and regulations concerning standards of acceptable performance for emergency preparation and restoration of service from $250K to $500K, and increases the maximum combined penalties for a series of violations concerning standards of acceptable performance for emergency preparation from $20 to $50 million.
● Electronic Maps
○ Directs DPU to establish requirements for the maintenance, timely updating, accuracy, and security of local gas distribution company maps and records and incorporate them into their service quality indicators.
○ Further requires that disruptions in the provision of electronic data, including maps and records relevant to inspections, maintenance, repairs, and construction to its in-house workforce and contractors, be incorporated as a metric or metrics in the DPU’s service quality indicators for local gas distribution companies.
● DPU Transparency & Accountability - Requires DPU to establish a publicly accessible database,
protecting customer privacy, of all customer complaints received regarding gas providers and a
process for investigating and responding to each complaint in a timely manner.
● Leak Rate Targets - Enhances gas company plans to address aging and leaking infrastructure by
setting interim targets to reduce the leak rate of natural gas and authorizing DPU to levy fines for non-compliance.
Other Provisions include:
● Fuel Cells (§§ 62) - Creates a property tax exemption for small fuel cell systems (serving up to 125% of a customer’s onsite load) that began construction after January 1, 2020.
● DPU and Mass Save Emissions Reductions
○ EEA secretary must set emission reductions goals for Mass Save energy efficiency plans and indicate within 15 months whether the goals were achieved; further increases requirements for Mass Save emission reductions. (§§ 9(3B), 24, 25, 28, 29, 30, 106)
○ Requires DPU to include the social value of greenhouse gas emission reductions when determining cost-effectiveness for energy efficiency plans and programs and future energy needs. (§§ 16 - 18, 20 - 24, 26 - 27)
○ Requires DPU to prioritize safety, security, reliability of service, affordability, equity, and GHG emissions reductions. (§§ 15)
● Board of Building Regulations (BBRS) (§§ 64 - 69; 70; 74) - Ensures energy efficiency input in the state building code by adding the DOER commissioner and 3 building energy efficiency experts to the board.
S.30 Changes to S.13 (Governor’s Amendments)
______________________________________________________________________________ADOPTED AMENDMENTS
§ 1 Provides authorization for the multi-state Transportation Climate Initiative by giving DEP the authority to regulate out-of-state entities in regards to transportation or heating fuels.
§ 2 Expands the definition of “greenhouse gas emissions source” to a) include emissions from transportation fuels, heating fuels, and electricity that is used, distributed, consumed, combusted or sold into the Commonwealth; and b) specify that a person or entity that sells or distributes transportation fuels, heating fuels, or electricity to be considered the source of the greenhouse gas emissions from the use of said fuels or electricity.
§ 4 Technical amendment to the definition of “market based compliance mechanism” that a) ensures that market based compliance mechanisms are imposed on sources or categories of sources of greenhouse gas emissions, not greenhouses gases themselves; b) removes the requirement that market-based declining annual aggregate emissions limits shall decline annually; and c) adds the Department of Environmental Protection to the list of entities that can establish market-based compliance mechanisms.
§ 5 Requires the Department of Environmental Protection to establish programs to monitor and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to promulgate regulations regarding sources of greenhouse gas emissions in order to achieve the limits and sublimits of the roadmap plan.
§ 10 Requires the EEA Secretary to establish programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to promulgate regulations regarding sources of greenhouse gas emissions in order to achieve the limits and sublimits of the roadmap plan.
§ 11A New section that expands the authorization to adopt regulations governing market-based compliance mechanisms to the Department of Environmental Protection (the EEA Secretary was already authorized to do so), and specifies that the goal of the market-based compliance mechanism would be to achieve the roadmap’s limits and sublimits.
§ 11B Technical amendment specifying that the Department of Environmental Protection (along with EEA) shall monitor and enforce any rules, regulations, orders, emissions limits, or market- based compliance mechanisms pursuant to Ch. 21N.
§ 14 & 19 Technical amendments that specify that the DPU shall annually direct the electric and gas distribution companies and municipal aggregators with certified energy plans to jointly transfer no less than $12 million, from funds collected through the energy efficiency charge on consumers’ bills, to the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, and that these funds shall not reduce the amount of other funds expended on low-income programs. (S.9 had previously stated that the DPU shall transfer the $12 million annual funding.)
§ 16 - 18, 21-23, 26, 27 Technical edit to ensure that, as the social value of greenhouse gas emissions is incorporated into the Mass Save energy efficiency program to encourage electrification of heating and cooling systems, Mass Save funds are not redirected by this section to conversions from fossil fuel heating and cooling systems to other fossil fuel heating and cooling systems.
§ 25 Technical amendment clarifying language that allows energy efficiency plans to prioritize projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
§ 26A Technical amendment that requires energy efficiency plans to comply with all the requirements of MGL Ch. 25 § 21, to ensure that they comply with changes being made by S.9.
§ 28 Technical amendment to ensure energy efficiency plans comply with Roadmap goals and existing MGL statue pertaining to energy efficiency plans.
§ 34 Technical amendment that corrects cross reference to (Section 33 instead of Section 32). § 56 Technical amendment that inserts the term “climate change” into the definition of “environmental burdens” in the Environmental Justice section of the bill.
§ 58 - Technical amendment that strikes reference to non-significant projects for which an environmental impact report was not required.
§ 60 - Technical amendment that clarifies that the EEA secretary may require additional measures for projects exempted from filing an environmental notification form pursuant ot Section 62A (certain utility projects) instead of requiring additional measures for “non- insignificant projects”.
§ 72 – Re-inserts the words “more stringent” to describe amendments to the base energy code that the BBRS in consultation with DOER must adopt.
§ 73 (Senate shifted to § 74) Clarifies that DOER promulgates the net zero specialized stretch energy code rather than adopts it.
§ 73A (Senate shifted to § 74A) Ensures that appeals to the net zero specialized stretch energy code are not heard under the Building Code Appeals process under the Division of Professional Licensure.
§ 78 - Technical amendment which adds a paragraph to Section 1F of chapter 164 rather than a subparagraph.
§ 85 - Technical amendment that clarifies language referring to station load.
§ 86 Technical amendment that expands on the directive for DPU to establish requirements for the maintenance, timely updating, accuracy, and security of local gas distribution company maps and records by further requiring the department to incorporate them as metrics into their service quality indicators. Grants flexibility to DPU to set more stringent requirements regarding disruptions in the provision of electronic data (e.g. maps and records) by removing requirement that only disruptions of 30 minutes or longer can be incorporated as a metric into their service quality indicators.
§ 92 Strikes the requirement for offshore wind procurements to occur within 18 months of each other instead of 24 months.
§ 96 Technical amendment that changes reference from MGL to session law. § 98 Technical amendment that corrects punctuation error.
§ 102A – 102B Requires DEP to promulgate regulations within 180 days for environmental impact report sections and clarifies that new regulations will only be applied to projects filed after effective date of regulations.
§ 102C Requires DEP within 18 months of the act’s effective date to promulgate regulations requiring cumulative impact analyses for defined categories of air quality permits identified through an evaluation and public comment process.
§ 103 Requires DPU to establish “rules” instead of “rules and regulations” for evaluating contractor qualifications.
§ 106 (S.30 new section) - Pushes back the date that the first Mass Save emissions reduction goal is required to be adopted from April 2021 to July 2021; further corrects misspelled word.
AMENDED AMENDMENTS
§ 9 - The Governor sought to ensure that a sub-limit shall not be binding for a given year for which the commonwealth is in compliance with the aggregate limit.
The Legislature amended this amendment to specify that a sub-limit shall not be found to have been binding for a given prior year if the commonwealth is found to have complied with the aggregate limit.
§ 31 The Governor sought to change the municipal opt-in specialized stretch energy code which included a definition of net-zero building and replace it with a municipal opt-in higher performance standard as part of a specialized stretch energy code. The Legislature amended this amendment and required a municipal opt-in stretch energy code that includes net-zero building performance standards and a definition of net-zero building.
§ 98A - 98B The Governor sought to:
Set an incorporation date for the opt-in higher performance standard of the specialized stretch energy code into the base energy code as no later than January 1, 2028 Extend the deadline to promulgate the specialized code from 12 to 18 months
Clarify that the existing stretch code will remain in effect until the specialized stretch energy code is promulgated by the Department of Energy Resources
Ensure that Green Communities wouldn’t lose their designation solely on the basis of not adopting the opt-in higher performance standard of the specialized stretch energy code
The Legislature rejected the Governor’s amendment in part:
Strikes Section 98B and shifts some provisions into Section 98A
Strikes the incorporation of an opt-in higher performance standard into the base energy code no later than January 1, 2028, in favor of establishing a net zero municipal opt-in specialized stretch energy code outlined in Section 31Accepts the extended timeframe from 12 to 18 months to promulgate a specialized stretch energy code
Clarifies that the existing stretch code shall remain in full force and effect, even after the promulgation of the new specialized stretch code
Ensures that Green Communities won’t lose their designation solely or even partially on the basis of not adopting the net zero municipal opt-in specialized stretch energy code
§ 107 The Governor sought to authorize the EEA secretary to set more stringent 2025 and 2030 statewide emission limits and sub-limits after January 1, 2022, based on changes circumstances.
The Legislature rejected the Governor’s language in favor of retaining the stronger 2030 emissions limit of “at least 50%”in section 10. It added a technical amendment to create an adoption date for the 2025 roadmap plan and push back the adoption date of the 2025 and 2030 roadmap plans from January 1, 2022 to July 1, 2022.
REJECTED AMENDMENTS
§ 10 - The Governor sought to amend:
the interim 2030 limit from at least 50% below the 1990 level to at least 45% and not more than 50%
the interim 2040 limit from at least 75% below the 1990 level to at least 65% and not more than 75%
§ 64 - The governor sought to reduce the total number of BBRS members from 15 to 13.
§ 66 - The governor sought to reduce the BBRS members appointed by the governor from 12 to
§ 67 - The governor sought to remove the proposed addition of experts in building efficiency to the BBRS: one in residential and one in commercial building efficiency.