Governor Charlie Baker signed an energy bill into law on Monday that would make MA significantly more reliant on hydropower from Canada, as well as wind power.
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In a statement released Monday, Baker said the bill represents a “major step towards providing residents and businesses with a cost-effective and reliable clean energy future”.
Advocates argue the bill should help accomplish the following goals: stabilizing rates over the long haul, ensuring the lights stay on during times of peak demand, and enabling the state to reach its aggressive greenhouse-gas reduction goals.
Part of that goal is met by the law’s requirement that utilities contract for about 1,200 megawatts of renewable energy including hydropower, onshore wind and solar power besides the 1,600 megawatts of offshore wind.
Baker and others have also pointed to the need to replace energy leaving the New England electrical grid, including the scheduled 2019 shutdown of the Pilgrim nuclear plant in Plymouth.
At the bill signing ceremony at the State House, Baker added that the legislation will also help the state to meet the requirements of the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2008. This opportunity has been highlighted in a number of other studies, including by the Energy Technologies Institute, which found that encouraging floating wind is a “key strategic issue for the UK”.
RSPB said there are major opportunities to develop renewable energy projects in deeper waters around the United Kingdom, including traditional fixed foundation offshore wind.
Greg Cunningham – the energy and climate program director at the Conservation Law Foundation, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the state over its implementation of Global Warming Solutions Act – said in a statement that while the bill isn’t flawless, it’s a big step forward.
While strongly resisting renewable energy projects with unacceptable wildlife impacts, the charity supports the large-scale expansion of carefully-planned renewable energy across the United Kingdom and does not object to more than 90% of sites, it said.
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The law establishes a new program created to help commercial and industrial property owners finance energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades that are repaid through a property tax assessment on their building.
