In Brief:
- As the new federal administration raises barriers to offshore wind projects, Massachusetts business and policy leaders are considering how the state can meet its goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
- Clean energy has long been heralded as a way to reduce pollution and avoid intensifying climate change. Experts say it’s also an important part of combating rising energy prices and making life in the commonwealth more affordable.
- Some recommend repurposing old fossil fuel plants’ existing grid connection points for transmitting renewably generated energy and combating disinformation campaigns targeting clean energy.
BOSTON — Massachusetts residents just made it through their coldest winter in 10 years — and one of their most expensive. Electricity rates in the state are more than twice the national average (only Hawaii pays more per kilowatt hour), and a pronounced recent spike made heating homes this year a costly endeavor.
At the same time, and not coincidentally, the state is on a quest to increase its use of clean energy sources. For Gov. Maura Healey’s office, the hope is to make electricity cheaper in addition to reaping the environmental and health benefits of renewables. “Gov. Healey has been clear that affordability is central to the vision of energy in Massachusetts,” said Rebecca Tepper, Massachusetts secretary of energy and environmental affairs, during a policy event in downtown Boston this week. “Her priority since day one has been to lower the cost of living and doing business in our state, and that's why Massachusetts is using a full range of energy sources. A diverse energy supply lowers cost, reduces price spikes and creates jobs in growing industries.”
Massachusetts’ higher-than-usual costs this winter were in part driven by rising supply costs for natural gas as well as a sharp rise in electric and gas delivery rates — in some cases by 30 to nearly 40 percent. The latter came as more residents participated in state programs that help with weatherization and energy efficiency, and which utilities help fund. (More participation meant more program costs, and utilities passed along the costs to their own customers.)
Offshore wind remains a promising area of growth for the coastal state, with Tepper highlighting the shallow waters, trained workforce and “some of the best wind.” But such projects — which have for years been constrained by hurdles like sluggish permitting processes, expensive Jones Act requirements and lawsuits — face new challenges under the Trump administration.
The federal government has been halting approvals for ocean-based wind turbines, working to freeze and repeal major sources of funding for low-carbon energy technologies, and putting a pause on renewing or issuing new approvals for on- and offshore wind projects on federal lands and waters. (Federal waters comprise everything between about 3 to 200 nautical miles from the coast.)
Tariffs are expected to raise prices of turbine components and have been creating the kind of economic uncertainty that makes private investors nervous.
Joe Curtatone, president of The Alliance for Climate Transition, a nonprofit business member organization focused on the clean energy industry, said as much at this week’s policy event: “The green energy transition, as we know, is under threat, and not because technology doesn't work and not because economics don't add up, but because the political climate shifted sharply."
Points of Agreement?
In the face of federal pushback on offshore wind projects, clean energy advocates need to promote the aspects that have bipartisan and Republican appeal, said Rebecca Ullman, director of External Affairs at SouthCoast Wind, a company developing an offshore wind farm near Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, Mass. Ullman is also part of Ocean Winds, an international offshore wind farm financier, builder and operator.
It could benefit clean energy proponents to focus on how generating renewable energy at home could reduce U.S. dependence on imported energy, Ullman said. There could also be cross-party support for reforming slow permitting processes, something that caused frustration during the Biden administration as well, said Randy Bell, vice president of government and regulatory affairs at energy company JERA Americas.
Curtatone recommended highlighting the economic benefits of clean energy projects, like creation of manufacturing jobs. Projects that benefit economies of both blue and red states might also win broad appeal, Ullman said; for example, those that use suppliers in red states for New England wind projects.
Still it’s unclear how such strategies will play out: The Trump administration has been looking to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act even as about 80 percent of clean energy investments made under the act reportedly go to Republican congressional districts.
What’s a State to Do?
Investors and municipalities
Companies and investors are spooked by uncertain economic climates, but states can help reassure them by committing to projects, industry spokespeople said at the policy event. For instance, states can put clean energy targets into legislation that will outlast any particular gubernatorial administration, Ullman said, calling such legislation “the ultimate market signal.”
The state can also help municipalities get their clean energy transitions off the ground by providing greater technical assistance and funding, as communities often have the drive but not the know-how, said Curtatone, formerly the mayor of Somerville, Mass.
Interconnection
Producing more clean energy is one thing; getting it to customers is another. The time and expense involved in interconnecting renewable energy projects to the electric grid is holding back Massachusetts’ energy goals, said Tepper: “This is something that needs immediate attention in order to help us build Massachusetts’ economic development and clean energy.”
Traditional fossil fuel power plants can be a piece of the solution, according to Bell, whose company owns several such facilities in Massachusetts. These fossil fuel facilities can generally be left off and only used as a last resort backup to help meet sudden surges of energy demand during very hot or very cold days. On the many days when the facilities are not sending out energy, their existing connections to the grid can be used instead by renewable energy projects, through a process known as “surplus interconnection service.” This spares renewable projects the time and expense of building out new connections.
Surplus interconnection service is already used in several other states, and Bell urged Massachusetts to tweak its requests for proposals on wind projects to better allow and encourage this kind of interconnection.
Disinformation and misinformation
Renewable energy projects are also locked in a fight over public opinion and trust. Disinformation and misinformation campaigns have been targeting clean energy and energy-efficient projects — often leading to delays, added costs and divided communities, said Curtatone. Many such campaigns stoke fears over the health impacts and reliability of renewable energy projects.
His organization has been partnering with researchers to understand how false narrative campaigns originate and spread, and to counter inaccurate claims by pushing out factual information. Part of that includes a website dedicated to clarifying misleading narratives around energy projects in the Northeast.
Right now, it’s an uphill fight: “We get crushed on this,” Curtatone said. “If we don't flip that script, we're going to lose in the long term.”
