"Last year's climate bill was about laying out a plan for tackling this formidable challenge of climate change. This year, in this legislation, we propose to begin to execute on the plan. If you like metaphors, last year was about laying out a roadmap, today we start traveling ...
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Senate plan pours $250 million into decarbonization movement with focus on transportation, energy – WickedLocal.com
Where the 2021 law “was and is about laying benchmarks,” the new bill “is about doing what needs to be done to hit those benchmarks,” said Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy Committee Co-chair Sen. Michael Barrett. The bill would use $100 million to create a Clean Energy ...
‘The most important issue of our time’: Mass. Senate unveils climate change legislation for electric vehicles, all-electric buildings – MassLive.com
“We know climate change is relentless, so Massachusetts needs to be relentless, too,” Barrett said. “No one’s going to give us an ‘A’ for effort — what matters are results. An Act Driving Climate Policy Forward pushes back against global warming on multiple fronts, with an ...
Solar charge angers Chelmsford legislative reps – Wicked Local Chelmsford
New England’s biggest utility has won approval for new charges on future solar customers starting next January — but in the process Eversource has angered some lawmakers with jurisdiction over its industry, including members of the Chelmsford’s delegation.
Vote Solar and Attorney General Maura Healey have both appealed the department’s approval of the new Eversource rates.
Mahony, who is Healey’s senior policy adviser for energy, suggested lawmakers should craft legislation that discourages customers from using electricity when demand on the grid is high. Demand fluctuates throughout the day as consumers turn on lights, flip on air conditioning and run electrical appliances. The demand charge in the Eversource rates does not vary based on time of day.
Sen. Michael Barrett, a Lexington Democrat and the Senate chairman of the committee, had a similar perspective to Mahony on the demand charges, questioning Eversource about why it wasn’t linked to when demand was highest on the grid as a whole.
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I Push Back Against Global Warming, Then Get a Surprise – The Barrett Report, Feb. 2018
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Lawmakers revisit new solar power fee – Boston Globe
Most committee hearings on Beacon Hill are mild affairs, planned out well in advance, to solicit input on various bills. Not this one.
Senator Michael Barrett and Representative Thomas Golden decided last week to revisit Eversource’s new solar fee. Barrett says precipitating factors included a Globe story and a particularly unhappy constituent.
Lawmakers authorized the adoption of this kind of solar charge back in 2016. But Barrett and Golden made it clear they believe Eversource has taken that permission beyond what the Legislature initially intended.
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State Lawmakers Form Multistate Alliance on Carbon Pricing – Common Dreams
Coalition Highlights State-level Momentum on Growing a Clean Energy Economy
Senator Mike Barrett from Massachusetts sees this as proving a strong regional consensus around putting a price on carbon. “This isn’t just a one-state movement” said Massachusetts State Senator Mike Barrett. “There is regional support for carbon pricing. By coming together in the Carbon Costs Coalition …
As I See It: A win-win for Worcester, the Commonwealth, and the world – Worcester Telegram
Worcester Telegram
The City of Worcester recently finished an ambitious lighting retrofit by changing all municipal lights to LEDs, one of many initiatives that are part of the city’s Green Community Plan. This change will provide better illumination, save close to a million dollars on power costs each year, and reduce the use of fossil fuels. This kind of change does not make national headlines, but cumulatively makes a difference in people’s lives and communities and in the health of our planet.
Let’s scale the latest local accomplishment up and push for an environmental win-win at the state level by passing a Carbon Pricing and Rebate bill. There are two bills working their way through the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy in the Massachusetts Legislature, S.1821, sponsored by Senator Mike Barrett D-Lexington, and H.1726, sponsored by Representative Jennifer Benson D-Lunenburg. Both bills accomplish the goal of reducing our dependence of fossil fuels in an efficient and fair way. We need to urge our legislators to support these bills and to push the committee to report out one bill for a vote.