Bill > S2967

This bill promotes a clean energy grid, advances equity, and protects ratepayers in the following key ways: It establishes an embodied carbon intergovernmental coordinating council to develop a plan to measure, monitor, and reduce embodied carbon in major building and transportation projects. It creates an office of environmental justice and equity to implement environmental justice principles, develop standards for community benefit plans and agreements, and establish a methodology for siting clean energy infrastructure. The bill requires transparency and data-sharing for electric vehicle charging stations, and allows the executive office of energy and environmental affairs to monitor their utilization and reliability. The bill expands the definition of "clean energy" and "clean energy research" to include technologies like carbon dioxide removal, embodied carbon reduction, and fusion energy. It enables municipal load aggregations to enter long-term contracts with offshore wind developers. The bill also directs the department of energy resources to review the effectiveness of existing clean energy procurements and make recommendations to ensure compliance with greenhouse gas emissions limits. Additionally, the bill establishes a consolidated permitting process for large and small clean energy infrastructure facilities, provides intervenor funding support, and strengthens the energy facilities siting board's role in reviewing transmission and distribution projects. It empowers the board to consider greenhouse gas emissions, ratepayer impacts, and environmental justice when making decisions. The bill also extends certain approvals for clean energy projects to provide regulatory certainty. Overall, the bill takes a comprehensive approach to accelerating the deployment of clean energy, advancing equity, and protecting ratepayers through regulatory changes, funding mechanisms, and planning processes.

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/193/S2967