The Nickel Report

The road to net-zero emissions in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is not a well-defined highway. In fact, at times it feels more like a barely discernible path through deep forested woods. The recent abandonment of the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) in November 2021, less than a year after its announcement, stands as a clear reminder that there remains a vast divide between the ambitious 2050 net-zero emissions goal of the Commonwealth’s historic climate legislation (Chapter 8 of the Acts of 2021 or the Climate Act) and the regulatory changes necessary to achieve it. However, just as one proposed tool to clear the way gets dropped, Massachusetts regulators take up another to keep the track moving forward.

Following a public review process, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (“DOER”) recently found, among other factors, that the costs of a solicitation for independent offshore wind energy transmission outweigh the potential benefits.  Accordingly, the agency decided not to require the Massachusetts Electric Distribution Companies (“EDCs”) to pursue a joint competitive transmission only solicitation.  The DOER’s findings were presented in a letter to the state legislature’s Joint Committee on Telecommunication, Utilities and Energy, as a supplement to the DOER’s prior findings in its Offshore Wind Study, which was published just over a year ago.  This action appears to close the latest chapter in a several year effort to advance a coordinated transmission for offshore wind resources.  How this fits into the Commonwealth’s long term energy strategy remains an open question, which may need to be revisited as the Commonwealth aims to keep pace with its Global Warming Solutions Act greenhouse gas emissions limits.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is pursuing various regulatory actions to implement state policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from electric generation resources. As we previously reported, the Commonwealth is planning to implement a Clean Peak Standard (“CPS”) program this summer, which is designed to have renewable electricity generation resources “show up at the right time” on the grid to coincide with times of peak demand. In a complementary action, the Commonwealth has now doubled the size of its Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (“SMART”) incentive program, along with new  performance standards for the siting of these renewable generating resources. While these changes to the SMART program were adopted as emergency regulations—making them effective immediately—the Commonwealth will go through the notice and comment rulemaking process over the next few months to provide for continued input from stakeholders on the new regulations and associated guidance.

How can sitting still in the Northeast potentially land you in a world of trouble under the Federal Clean Air Act (CAA) and corresponding state laws? Quite easily, if you happen to be in or leave a vehicle with its engine on and the vehicle itself is not in motion for more than a few minutes. That is the definition of “unnecessary vehicle idling” in many jurisdictions.

Across the Northeast and elsewhere, unnecessary vehicle idling is, subject to certain nuances and exceptions, generally prohibited. Recently, violators have come under attack by non-governmental organizations. State penalties vary, but the potential exposure can be severe, especially when the statutory maximum available penalties are calculated pursuant to the Federal CAA and compounded on a per-violation/per-day basis. Accordingly, owners and operators of all forms of trucking and transit companies should not sit still and should take proactive measures to educate or reeducate vehicle schedulers and operators alike on these anti-idling requirements.