Policy Unit
The Policy Unit of the Renewable Energy Trust increases the availability, affordability and use of renewable energy by assessing market and regulatory challenges, assembling objective information, and helping MTC collaboratives to develop consensus policy recommendations. The Policy Unit also provides policy analysis and program development support to other parts of the Trust in the areas of electricity and REC markets and the regulation of electric utilities.
The electricity market in Massachusetts is subject both to state and regional regulation and to market rules. Regulation and market structure help shape the roles and responsibilities of market participants, and the success of renewable energy development in Massachusetts is dependent on these drivers.
The following sections explore some of the Policy Unit's activities and identify resources on the regulatory and market issues that shape the policy climate for renewable energy.
Policy Activity
- August 2008 -- Massachusetts Renewable Energy Potential, Navigant Consulting, with introductory paper by Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources
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2008 Massachusetts Energy Bill
- April, 2008 -- NSTAR's "Marshfield Energy Challenge" (an MTC Congestion Relief Pilot) is featured in articles in Boston Globe South, MassHighTech.com, WBZ, and Restructuring Today
- March 31, 2008 -- Impacts of DG on Wholesale Electric Prices and Air Emissions in Massachusetts, by M. Drunsic et. al., Synapse Energy Economics, prepared for Massachusetts Technology Collaborative
- December 2007 -- U.S. National Grid Corporate Responsibility Report
- see comments on Renewable Energy Trust (page 33): "Current work is focused on simplifying the process for utility interconnection of PV or wind-powered energy systems on underground network distribution systems, the type commonly found in the center of large metropolitan centers."
- February 13, 2007 -- "With Energy Near Top of Agenda, Experts Talk About Possibilities," State House News Service
- Click here for recent reports on climate change
- See also www.ipcc.ch/
- January 18, 2007 -- GOVERNOR PATRICK SIGNS REGIONAL PACT TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS: Auction of emissions allowances will fund energy-saving programs to lower electricity bills and further reduce emissions, Press Release
Distributed Generation
- Overview of DG Policy Collaboration in Massachusetts
- MTC Congestion Relief Pilots
- Reports by the DG Collaborative to the DTE
- Interconnection Guide for DG Owners & Developers
- DG Collaborative Meetings and Proceedings
- DG Online Resource Center (Search for Files)
- Network Interconnection Resources
Climate Change
- Climate Change Policy & Planning: Reports
- Climate Change Action Plans & Links
- Climate Change Fact Sheet
- RGGI (Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative)
- RGGI state websites:
- Connecticut www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2684&q=332278&depNav_GID=1619
- Delaware www.dnrec.delaware.gov/Climate+change+RGGI.htm
- Massachusetts DEP www.mass.gov/dep/air/climate/index.htm#rggi
- Massachusetts DOER www.mass.gov/doer/rggi/index.htm
- Maryland www.mde.state.md.us/air/rggi.asp
- Maine www.maine.gov/dep/air/greenhouse/rggi.htm
- New Hampshire www.des.state.nh.us/ARD/ClimateChange/rggi.htm
- New Jersey - Pending
- New York DEP www.dec.ny.gov/energy/rggi.html
- New York DEC www.nyserda.org/RGGI/default.asp
- Rhode Island http://www.dem.ri.gov/rggi/index.htm
- Vermont PSB www.state.vt.us/psb/document/RGGI/rggi.htm
Long-Term Renewable Energy Financing
- Massachusetts Green Power Partnership
- August 10, 2006 -- Governor rejects certain provisions of a bill affecting RPS treatment of biomass projects
- Reports:
- January 2007 -- Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Renewables Portfolio Standards: A Comparative Analysis of State-Level Policy Impact Projections, C. Chen et. al., Environmental Energy Technologies Division, LBNL 61580
- January 2006 -- Annual RPS Compliance Report for 2004, Massachusetts DOER
- December 2004 -- Economic Impact Analysis of NJ's Proposed 20% Renewable Portfolio Standard, Rutgers Center for Energy, Economic and Environmental Policy
Other Energy Policy Information
- Clean energy policies of selected states
- Public information on current energy policies in Massachusetts
Selected Earlier Materials
- May 2007 -- DER
- December 18, 2006 -- Demand Resources (including DG) must submit "Show of Interest Forms" to ISO-NE before February 28, 2007 to participate in the Forward Capacity Market
- For details, see ISO Market Rules page
- August 15, 2006 -- RGGI Model Rule Released
- August 11, 2006 -- Governor Unveils Long Term Energy Plan -- see slide presentation Massachusetts’ Energy Future: A Balanced Approach (pdf) and Press Release (pdf) and a State House News Service article (pdf)
2006 Request for Proposals for Support to the DG Policy Collaboration Initiative
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The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (“MTC”) issued this Request for Proposals in August, 2006 for Support for the Distributed Generation ("DG") Policy Collaboration Initiative (“RFP”) (No. 2007-DG-01 ) to solicit responses from organizations to provide support to the Trust's DG Policy Collaboration Initiative and the future activities listed in the 2006 Report of the DG Collaborative (see Section 5, available at http://www.masstech.org/dg/collab-reports.htm).
- Download the complete RFP (pdf file)
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August 24, 2006 -- Bidders Conference at MTC, Westborough, MA (classroom 102, Weiss Conference Center):
- August 24 -- Excepts from Project Plan for first MTC Congestion Relief Pilot (word file, Attachment E to RFP No. 2007-DG-01, omitted from RFP by mistake)
- August 24 -- corrected flow chart "Integrated Work Plan" (ppt file, the item in red type was moved from Task 1 to Taskl 3).
- August 23 -- updated Gantt chart from the RFP (excel file, the rows with headings in red type have been updated).
Questions or comments about issues discussed in these pages may be directed to the following MTC personnel:
Fran Cummings, Policy Director | Bio