The Massachusetts legislature has passed S.2967, a bill that promotes clean energy grids, promotes fairness, and protects taxpayers.

The climate bill was announced under immense pressure from environmental justice and clean energy advocates following the failure of major climate reforms a few months ago. This legislation addresses the urgent climate crisis by promoting the elimination of polluting fossil fuels and simplifying the adoption of clean energy.

Now, state-level legislation is more important than ever for the transition to clean energy. We commend lawmakers for passing this bill and recognizing the urgent need to address the climate crisis while prioritizing fairness in this process, "said Elena Weissmann, Northeast Director of Vote Solar. We congratulate the leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives, as well as those advocates who did not ease the pressure, for passing this bill

The bill makes significant changes to the site selection and licensing of energy infrastructure, which will accelerate the Commonwealth's transition to renewable resources such as solar energy, and plans to phase out methane gas projects without endangering low - and middle-income taxpayers. In addition, the bill lays the foundation for future distributed and resilient power grids by integrating battery storage and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

We are pleased that this bill prioritizes strong cumulative impact assessments for new energy projects rooted in environmental justice principles. This assessment requires new energy projects to fully consider the historical and ongoing burdens experienced by communities that are disproportionately affected by climate change and the current energy system, "Weissman said. We look forward to working with partners to promote the transition from polluting infrastructure to renewable energy projects that can directly benefit frontline communities