S.2545, an act to promote a clean energy future, includes a number of provisions that would provide fair and equitable access to solar for all MA residents, a 2,000 MW target for energy storage by 2025, and an increase in the RPS standard from a 1% a year to 3% a year. E2 was instrumental in making this legislation reality. E2 New England, partnering with other business and environmental groups, testified at hearings; met with numerous legislators; sent letters; and made phone calls in order to make the economic case for moving forward on nearly all issues in the Senate bill.
The ball now sits squarely in the MA House’s court. On July 12, the House advanced a bill that would raise the Commonwealth’s RPS, moving from a current requirement on utilities of 25% renewables by 2030 up to 35% by 2030. That same bill includes a ‘Clean Peak Standard” that would encourage use of storage to meet peak load conditions. In addition, the House advanced energy efficiency legislation, including updates to appliance efficiency standards. Though we don’t believe that these bills go far enough, we are hopeful that they will be strengthened by a conference committee. Once passed, they will pave the way for greater investments throughout the state in emerging renewables technologies – and the 21st century jobs that come with them. E2 New England is still in close contact with key legislators, and is hopeful that the Senate and House will work diligently to agree on a set of reconciled bills that will then become law before the end of the legislative session on July 31.
- E2 was instrumental in making this legislation reality. E2 New England, partnering with other business and environmental groups, testified at hearings; met with numerous legislators; sent letters; and made phone calls in order to make the economic case for moving forward on nearly all issues in the Senate bill. Stay tuned for more on the last-minute dash to get House bills that meet our goals out of committee, and onto the floor for a positive vote.
- In addition, E2’s New England chapter hosted two events in the past quarter.
In April, the chapter held a panel discussion on the promising and disruptive effect of solar and storage on New England’s energy landscape featuring MA State Representative Jennifer Benson, Dale Bryk (NRDC), and Steven Strong (Solar Design Associates).- Early in June, the chapter hosted a networking happy hour focused on entrepreneurship, at which E2 Chapter Director and Co-founder and Managing Director of Clean Energy Ventures Dave Miller spoke about what it takes to turn a good idea into a great cleantech business.