NECEC (New England Clean Energy Council) issued the following statement regarding An Act Relative to Energy Sector Compliance with the Global Warming Solutions Act, filed by Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker today:

“NECEC is pleased to see the Baker Administration move forward with a legislative proposal to competitively procure large scale clean energy resources to meet Massachusetts energy needs and greenhouse gas reduction goals,” said NECEC President Peter Rothstein. “This legislation should lead to a combination of renewable energy, in particular highly competitive onshore wind, combined with hydro, and the transmission needed to deliver the energy to customers. The legislation presents an important opportunity to stabilize energy costs and invest in the region. It also enables regional cooperation among the New England states to further reduce costs for energy users.”

Grid scale renewables – especially those that qualify for the Commonwealth’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) like onshore wind – must be part of the Commonwealth’s clean energy portfolio, along with solar and other distributed resources that can have an impact today in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. These resources are a key way to address significant retirements of large electric generating facilities.

“NECEC looks forward to working with the Baker Administration and the Legislature on the details of this legislation to ensure significant inclusion of onshore wind and other competitive Class 1 renewables combined with hydro to diversify clean energy supplies and ensure cost-effective energy for customers.” said Rothstein. “While the valuable projects envisioned in this legislation will take several years to be deployed, more immediately, we urge the Baker Administration to take action with the Legislature to lift net metering caps that are standing in the way of solar’s ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stabilizing energy costs for Massachusetts consumers today.”

About NECEC (New England Clean Energy Council and NECEC Institute) NECEC is a regional non-profit clean energy business, policy and innovation organization whose mission is to accelerate the region’s clean energy economy to global leadership by building an active community of stakeholders and a world-class cluster of companies.

NECEC works with clean energy businesses and entrepreneurs, policymakers and other stakeholders in the clean energy sector in New England and the Northeast through programs and initiatives that advance clean energy markets and help clean energy businesses access the resources they need to grow.