Supporting Green Jobs Legislation
Mass Audubon joined with several of our partner groups last week in signing onto a letter urging Senators to co-sponsor An Act Creating 21st Century Clean Energy Jobs (sponsored by Senator Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton). There are over 100,000 people in Massachusetts working in the clean energy industry today. This legislation will help that number continue to grow, build on our position as the strongest state for energy efficiency, and help us reach the requirements of the Global Warming Solutions Act. Read the letter here.
Offshore wind development will be one source of clean energy jobs along Massachusetts’ south coast.
Making Progress on State’s New Solar Incentive Program
The Department of Energy Resources (DOER) is designing a new solar incentive program to promote cost-effective solar development in Massachusetts. Last week, DOER presented the final program design to stakeholders. The goal of the new program, named the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART), will be to procure 1,600 MW of new solar capacity, as well as to provide 10- or 20-year fixed-price compensation for solar projects, depending on their size. You can see the whole presentation here. Dates for public hearings and the deadline for the written comment period are expected to be announced in March.
Learn more about solar incentives and project siting in our previous blog post.
Rooftop installations are a great way to generate solar energy while avoiding the loss of ecologically-important land areas Photo credit: EEA
Congratulations to Massachusetts’ Newest Green Communities!
DOER also recently announced that an additional 30 Massachusetts cities and towns have been designated as Green Communities. Under the Green Communities Act, cities and towns must meet five criteria to be designated a Green Community and receive funding, including reducing municipal energy consumption by 20 percent over five years. Green Communities are eligible for grants to complete renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.
Over half of Massachusetts municipalities have now been designated, and more than 64% percent of residents live in, a Green Community. Among the newly-designated cities and towns are Chelsea, Fitchburg, Marshfield, and North Adams.