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Monday, the Commission on Energy Infrastructure Siting and Permitting provided recommendations to Governor Maura Healey on changes that could streamline siting and permitting for clean energy infrastructure such as solar farms, battery arrays, transmission lines, and wind turbines. The recommendations drew praise from State Rep., Jeff Roy, who said the state needs a dramatically expanded power grid to be the backbone of this transformation. “We cannot achieve this clean energy future without comprehensive reform – and the commission’s recommendations – the work product of extensive, collaborative deliberations – provide a solid foundation to get there,” he added.
The Commission's recommendations would consolidate permits, set mandatory timeframes for permit decisions, establish what it called “community engagement” requirements for developers, and create its own guidance on the suitability of sites for energy infrastructure development.
“To meet our emissions limits, we need to build much more clean energy infrastructure, and we need to build it much quicker than we have to date,” said Governor Healey. The Governor went on to suggest that having that infrastructure in place will not only help to meet climate goals, “but “will also attract and support life sciences, climatetech, and other major industries looking to grow in Massachusetts.”
As with most public and private construction projects, obtaining permits for new energy infrastructure can be a long and unpredictable process. In addition to lengthy and sometimes redundant permitting processes, the extended appeals process can significantly delay or prevent clean energy infrastructure projects from being built.
In September 2023, Governor Healey signed Executive Order 620 to establish the Commission on Energy Infrastructure Siting and Permitting. The Commission is composed of representatives from municipalities, environmental justice organizations, environmental advocacy groups, electric utilities, agriculture, energy siting practitioners, clean energy industry, labor, housing and real estate. Supported by an Interagency Siting and Permitting Task Force and a Siting Practitioner Advisory Group, the Commission has met thirteen times since October 2023 to identify the barriers to clean energy development and develop recommendations on the strategies and policies necessary to address these challenges. In February, the Commission released a summary of discussions to date and a list of questions for public input and in March, the Commission held two public ‘listening’ sessions.
The Commission’s recommendations include:
Roy, who is House Chair of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy thanked the Healey-Driscoll administration for being outstanding partners “in propelling the permitting conversation to the forefront.”
“Our decarbonization strategy is clear – to get to net zero emissions by 2050, we need an enormous increase in electric vehicles, heat pumps, and clean energy resources,” Roy added.