Massachusetts is seeing green growth that goes far beyond Boston Celtics jersey sales; clean energy development is flourishing across the state, creating jobs and expanding the economy.
Producing 20% of electricity with solar power would enable the state to meet its global warming pollution reduction goals while drastically cutting water consumption; solar photovoltaic systems consume one-fifth as much water as coal plants do.
Solar Power Revolution: Massachusetts' Innovations
Massachusetts is well known for its world-class universities, which have fostered an environment that fosters innovation. This spirit is helping drive Massachusetts toward its clean energy goals; legislators placed Massachusetts on a path toward emissions reductions and renewable energy adoption ten years ago; this policy leadership has spurred a solar revolution across Massachusetts.
Since 2013, Massachusetts has installed more than 2,500 megawatts of solar PV on homes and businesses throughout the state, significantly decreasing reliance on fossil fuels while simultaneously cutting electricity costs for homeowners and business owners alike.
Thanks to cutting-edge policies such as Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target program and net metering, solar energy has quickly become the primary source of electricity in many communities throughout Massachusetts.
Massachusetts has long been recognized as a pioneering solar installer and now looks set to expand further as an energy storage market emerges. Massachusetts recently became the first New England state with an energy storage mandate, while also working on innovative approaches that encourage customers to add battery capacity onto existing rooftop solar installations.
SMART solar program now offers an additional incentive for battery storage combined with solar PV based on its value to the grid during peak demand hours. This new tool builds upon findings of the State of Charge study which identified customer-sited storage as one of the most cost-effective tools available to address high cost, fossil-fuel intensive peak demand.
Massachusetts offers additional incentives to customers looking to add energy storage to their solar installation, including a battery storage rebate, low-income community adder, and "value stack" that intelligently steers projects toward energy equity, distributed generation and grid resilience.
Massachusetts needs to continue working toward its clean energy goals by eliminating barriers to solar power through public policy. This includes raising the cap on how much solar electricity can be credited under net metering and modernizing grid infrastructure to accommodate solar, energy efficiency, and electric vehicle charging.
Wind Power Revolution: MA Success Stories
One of Massachusetts's hallmark accomplishments in clean energy is its pioneering role in developing the nation's inaugural utility-scale offshore wind project - Vineyard Wind will generate enough electricity to power more than 400,000 homes throughout Massachusetts! This 800-megawatt wind farm will boast 62 turbines capable of powering its 800-megawatt output, setting Massachusetts apart as an innovator of renewable energy solutions.
This project is scheduled for completion this summer and is expected to create thousands of jobs. Construction has already started on Cape roads with workers digging under five miles of local roads to install underground protective tubes that will connect with an electrical substation in Barnstable that will reduce voltage to allow power transmission through the grid directly to homes and businesses.
Rhode Island is currently undertaking a similar process. Governor Gina Raimondo recently announced that Rhode Island's electric distribution companies have chosen Revolution Wind, developed by Deepwater Wind and scheduled to start construction near Martha's Vineyard by 2022. The project will use a larger version of GE Haliade-X wind turbine to generate 1,230 megawatts of renewable energy while creating hundreds of jobs.
As this occurs, the state is also taking steps to adjust its policies and infrastructure in support of wind. Working closely with local communities, transmission lines are being built that support onshore and offshore wind development. Furthermore, its energy portfolio has been adjusted in order to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels while meeting greenhouse gas reduction goals.
Even with its successes, Maryland still faces many hurdles with offshore wind. Rising inflation and interest rates have increased project costs while supply chain issues have caused delays for some developers. Some projects - Commonwealth Wind and Mayflower Wind (lease area OCS-A 0534) specifically - have requested to withdraw from procurement processes because of these issues; yet bids submitted so far indicate that Maryland remains on track towards its ambitious clean energy goals.
Waste to Energy: Massachusetts' Advances
Massachusetts isn't just known as a leader in wind and solar technologies; they've also made strides in waste to energy conversion. This trend can be traced back to states adopting Renewable Portfolio Standards that mandate electric utilities produce a certain percentage of their electricity from renewables; along with policies encouraging biomass, clean heating/cooling technologies and advanced biofuels production.
Some 29 states and the District of Columbia have included EfW as an eligible resource in their RPSs; however, more work needs to be done to make EfW competitive with solar and wind technologies - gasification being one such example - which will ultimately place it into Tier I status alongside solar and wind resources.
Yet-Ming Chiang and his team at MIT are working toward just that goal. The acclaimed materials scientist has devised an ingenious solution: recycling electric-vehicle batteries at up to 50% lower cost than buying them readymade; this can make EVs significantly more affordable, helping make the leap from a niche product to mainstream transportation mode.
Another MIT innovation is a flywheel energy storage system developed for Worcester's Greentown project, designed to deliver fast, cost-effective and reliable energy to the grid. This device stores electricity during periods when there's neither sunlight nor wind available for energy production - saving it until needed!
The Baker-Polito Administration continues to foster progress by increasing funding for clean energy programs. For instance, their mail-in rebate program assists homeowners in saving money when purchasing high-efficiency ENERGY STAR appliances that reduce household energy consumption while creating local jobs. Furthermore, the Better Buildings program has allowed residents in cities like Lowell to build energy-efficient homes that reduce utility bills while meeting historical preservation standards.
Massachusetts' green economy is an impressive success story, driven by innovative policies and the presence of some of the brightest students working on climate-change solutions here in Boston. The result has been an extensive ecosystem that continues to flourish over time.
Greening the Grid: MAs' Smart Grid Leadership
Rebuilding America's antiquated electrical grid may seem daunting at first, but many utilities have begun attempting to implement smarter and more efficient solutions to replace it with smarter grids that reduce power outages, lower consumer energy costs and allow for renewables to flourish.
However, the path forward for the smart grid requires many more hands and support from various stakeholders. "It's not just utilities; it's the entire energy ecosystem," according to Ryan Cox of Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC). He notes how large investor-owned utilities exist alongside municipal utilities, electric cooperatives, energy efficiency program managers, green service providers and so forth - each playing their own roles within this system.
These industry stakeholders contribute to the funding, building, operating, and regulating of a modern grid that society relies on for comfort, convenience, economic prosperity, and public safety. Investor-owned utilities are generally overseen by state public utility commissions while smaller utilities like municipal utilities or electric cooperatives may be managed directly by member owners or local officials.
As the industry works to upgrade its grid, new business models must be developed that enable consumers to take an active role in both energy consumption and production. This involves using electricity more efficiently during peak demand periods while selling back any excess into the grid; furthermore, bi-directionality, flexibility, and digitalization must be integrated as hallmarks of the smart grid.
The Cape and Vineyard Compact is among many community organizations supporting a smarter electricity grid for their region, but Austin Brandt from Eversource says its plans to install smart meters across Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard do not go far enough.
He emphasizes the need for customers to access their data, and provide more transparency around energy consumption and pricing transparency, as well as an emphasis on improving reliability and resiliency within our current grid; further acknowledging it will take significant investment over time to harden our system against extreme weather events.
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