Event Recap: ABC Conversation with Secretary of Energy & Environment Rebecca Tepper
July 20, 2023
On Thursday, July 13th, A Better City was thrilled to welcome Massachusetts’ Secretary of Energy & Environment, Rebecca Tepper, for an in-person conversation. Prior to joining the Healey administration in 2023, Secretary Tepper served in then-Attorney General Healey’s office, as the Chief of the Telecommunications Division and Chief of the Energy and Environment Bureau. Prior roles also included General Counsel to the MA Department of Public Utilities (DPU), the Director of the Massachusetts’ Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB), representing Massachusetts on the Eastern Interconnection States’ Planning Council, and serving as partner at Rubin and Rudman, representing developers throughout the Northeast in siting, permitting, financing, and contracting of renewable, distributed generation, and conventional energy facilities. In her role as Governor Maura Healey’s Secretary of Energy and Environment, Tepper oversees the Commonwealth’s six environmental, natural resource, and energy regulatory agencies within the Energy and Environment Administration’s (EEA) cabinet: Department of Agriculture, Department of Conservation & Recreation, Department of Energy Resources, Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Fish & Game, and the Department of Public Utilities.
Expanding Renewable Energy Capacity in Massachusetts
In her opening remarks, Secretary Tepper framed climate change as the Commonwealth’s greatest challenge and greatest opportunity. With a deep focus on decarbonizing the energy supply, Secretary Tepper reviewed recent progress on offshore wind development, including a new 3.6GW solicitation for offshore wind, which currently represents the largest on the east coast. If successful with their application for a $250M federal grant for onshore wind transmission, then the State hopes to open solicitations for an additional capacity of 2.4MW of onshore wind and solar deployment. Secretary Tepper also mentioned the importance of regional coordination on renewable energy solicitations as well as regional transmission infrastructure, to minimize competition across states and to maximize efficiency in transmission line development and interconnection.
Parallel to expanding and accelerating offshore wind developments, Secretary Tepper also highlighted the opportunities to explore solar capacity in Massachusetts, in a way that is complementary to nature-based solutions by preserving existing natural and working lands. In a recent solar capacity study, the Commonwealth identified over 50GW of valuable, relatively easy-to-develop solar capacity that would not conflict with conservation efforts, and that would help the State be more strategic around solar siting. With the launch of an interactive solar capacity tool, users can explore parcel by parcel benefit-cost opportunities for solar siting, with ratings according to predetermined criteria. Additionally, Secretary Tepper announced the creation of a Siting and Permitting Commission to address remaining land use challenges and inequities that often place undue burden for energy facilities siting on vulnerable environmental justice communities. This Commission is also intended to address challenges in energy storage deployment and expansion, to move beyond the current dynamics stemming from fractured town-by-town deployments. Finally, Secretary Tepper also mentioned her excitement about the possibility of virtual power plants through aggregation, in which smart technology combined with distributed energy generation could pool solar energy generation from individual rooftops into a virtual renewable power plant, for example.
Achieving Emissions Reduction in Buildings & Transportation
Secretary Tepper referenced decarbonizing buildings as “the hardest nut to crack” and affirmed the need to focus on effective building policies. In addition to following updated policies tackling decarbonized new construction, like the updated stretch energy code and specialized opt-in stretch energy code, she also highlighted the need for equitable retrofits. The State recently launched a Massachusetts Community Climate Bank with $50M in seed funding to address affordable housing retrofits, which many hope will grow in size and scope over time to include additional buildings beyond affordable housing. The Commonwealth is also pulling together a regional Massachusetts team for federal grant applications on low income solar, with an initial win of $3.4M granted to the Department of Energy Resources in July.
Secretary Tepper also mentioned transportation and the MBTA as one of, if not the top, priorities for the Healey-Driscoll administration. The State is eager to continue progress on electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and is also tracking the EV industry as California rules will require changes by 2035 and 2050 (meaning that 100% of vehicles sold in 2050 will be required to be electric). With public transportation as critical for a decarbonized economy, for economic competitiveness, and for enhanced mobility, Secretary Tepper mentioned that the administration is thrilled with recent appointments, including General Manager Eng to the MBTA. Beyond public transit, the Secretary also mentioned how important bike lanes are for emissions reduction efforts.
Climate & Community Resilience
Regarding climate resilience, Secretary Tepper acknowledged that this is also a top priority for the Governor. The State is in the process of finalizing the 5-year update to the State Hazard Mitigation and Climate Adaptation Plan (SHMCAP), which is anticipated to be completed in September 2023. A Better City was actively involved in providing input for the MA Climate Change Assessment as well as the SHMCAP 2023 update and was pleased to learn that extreme heat will be included in the climate risks that Massachusetts is planning to address. Finally, the State anticipates launching Resilient Massachusetts later this year, which will be a statewide “all-in” effort to address resilience holistically and at a regional level. A Better City looks forward to engaging heavily in the implementation of Resilient MA, and importantly, identifying sufficient funding and financing mechanisms for resilience implementation.
Q+A Discussion
After providing remarks, Secretary Tepper participated in a moderated discussion with A Better City’s President and CEO, Kate Dineen. Some of the questions included:
- How can building owners navigate conflicting building policies across jurisdictions in Massachusetts?
- Secretary Tepper shared that anticipated regulations for the 10 municipal fossil fuel demonstration pilots will be released in early August and should help to provide needed clarity on misaligned building policies in different jurisdictions. Additionally, to provide proof of concept for deep energy retrofits in commercial and industrial buildings, the State is launching a Corporate Building Challenge in the fall, which will include voluntary emissions reduction goals across scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions.
- How to address interconnection challenges for renewable energy deployment?
- Secretary Tepper celebrated the appointment of two new DPU commissioners and hopes that concerted efforts within the Healey-Driscoll administration can address interconnection without needing to wait for federal regulatory progress through FERC (the Federal Energy Regulators Council).
- How to secure dedicated funding sources for resilience?
- Secretary Tepper acknowledged that there is not sufficient funding for towns to make resilient investments needed or to implement individual projects, and that we need a regional approach to climate resilience funding, potentially through an expanded scope of the MA Community Climate Bank, mentioned above. Alongside funding, the State is also reviewing Chapter 91 regulations to provide additional clarity and efficiency in permitting.
- What is the state’s position regarding fusion and hydrogen?
- Secretary Tepper is engaging with Commonwealth Fusion to proactively understand what regulatory framework might be needed prior to integration of fusion into our renewable energy economy. The state is also partnering with other New England states and New York on a Northeast hydrogen hub.
- How can we scale up clean energy workforce development?
- Secretary Tepper affirmed that scaling up equitable workforce development is a topic in every conversation, across every sector that she engages with. To help break down silos in equitable workforce development, the State has an inter-agency secretariat on workforce development and is working closely with Mass Talent and MassCEC on how to scale up and spread the word on emerging opportunities. Please see MassCEC’s report on the future of clean energy jobs for more information.
