An ambitious bill introduced in the Massachusetts’ Senate proposes to accelerate expansion to the state’s renewable energy sector. Along with implementing a market-based system to reduce emissions, the bill also aims to increase the required growth rate of the state’s renewable portfolio from 1% to 3% per year. Specific goals and proposals for solar, wind and energy storage are included in the bill.
The bill seeks to establish a target for solar energy production at 20% of Massachusetts’ total electricity generation by 2020, and 30% by 2030. Solar production is further encouraged through the elimination of existing caps on the amount of solar power that customers can sell back to the grid. The bill also follows the lead of nearby states like New York and New Jersey in calling for increased offshore wind procurement, with a goal of five gigawatts of offshore wind by 2035. The energy storage target in the bill is an impressive 1,766 megawatts by 2025 and the bill requires state regulators to set an energy storage target for 2030 by 2020. For more information, see a summary of the bill here.