Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H3559 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 940 FILED ON: 1/14/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3559
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Lindsay N. Sabadosa and Sean Garballey
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act to encourage solar development on buildings and disturbed land.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire1/14/2025Sean Garballey23rd Middlesex1/14/2025Mary S. Keefe15th Worcester3/4/2025Adrianne Pusateri Ramos14th Essex3/6/2025 1 of 3
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 940 FILED ON: 1/14/2025
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3559
18	18	By Representatives Sabadosa of Northampton and Garballey of Arlington, a petition
19	19	(accompanied by bill, House, No. 3559) of Lindsay N. Sabadosa, Sean Garballey and others for
20	20	legislation to encourage solar development on buildings and disturbed land.
21	21	Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy.
22	22	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
23	23	_______________
24	24	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
25	25	(2025-2026)
26	26	_______________
27	27	An Act to encourage solar development on buildings and disturbed land.
28	28	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
29	29	of the same, as follows:
30	30	1 SECTION 1. Section 138 of Chapter 164 of the General Laws, is hereby amended in the
31	31	2definition of “Class III net metering facility” by adding at the end thereof, the following words:
32	32	3“; provided further, that a Class III net metering facility that is a solar net metering facility
33	33	4located on built land may have a generating capacity of more than 1 megawatt but less than or
34	34	5equal to 5 megawatts.”
35	35	6 SECTION 2. Section 138 of Chapter 164 of the General Laws, is hereby amended by
36	36	7adding the following definitions:
37	37	8 “Disturbed land”, land containing pavement, compacted urban soils, gravel pits,
38	38	9junkyards, abandoned dumping grounds and other land that is barren of native plant growth due
39	39	10to human activity prior to January 1, 2024 and land that is part of a parcel containing a building 2 of 3
40	40	11and is not and has not been forest or tree covered or used for agriculture or zoned for agriculture
41	41	12since January 1, 2012.
42	42	13 “Built land”, parking lots over which a solar canopy can be installed, structures,
43	43	14brownfields, landfills, roadway cuts or disturbed land.
44	44	15 SECTION 3. Section 139(i) of chapter 164 of the General Laws, as amended by chapter 8
45	45	16of the acts of 2021, and amended by Section 54 of chapter 179 of the acts of 2022 is hereby
46	46	17further amended by adding the following sentence:
47	47	18 A Class I net metering facility on built land with a capacity greater than 25 kilowatts, a
48	48	19Class II net metering facility on built land or Class III solar net metering facility on built land
49	49	20shall be exempt from subsections (b1/2) and (k) and from the aggregate net metering capacity of
50	50	21facilities that are not net metering facilities of a municipality or other governmental entity under
51	51	22subsection (f) and may net meter and, irrespective of size, accrue Class II net metering credits if
52	52	23it is generating renewable energy.
53	53	24 SECTION 4. Chapter 75 of the acts of 2016, as amended by section 63 of chapter 179 of
54	54	25the acts of 2022, is hereby further amended by inserting after 11A the following three new
55	55	26sections:
56	56	27 Section 11B. The department of energy resources shall promulgate regulations to include
57	57	28in the solar incentive program established in section 11 and in any successor solar incentive
58	58	29program, additional adders for solar facilities located on built land, including parking lot
59	59	30canopies, and remove declining incentive blocks for solar facilities located on built land. The
60	60	31department of energy resources shall promulgate regulations that allow adjustment of incentives
61	61	32for solar energy based on market conditions for energy, labor, steel, other materials associated 3 of 3
62	62	33with the manufacturing of solar panels, and other solar development cost realities. By December
63	63	3431, 2025 the department of energy resources and the department of public utilities shall finalize
64	64	35these changes for built land.
65	65	36 Section 11C. The executive office of environmental affairs shall investigate and report on
66	66	37appropriate uses of federal funds and funds held in the transitional escrow account, specifically
67	67	38funds transferred pursuant to section 259 of chapter 268 of the acts of 2022 to the Transitional
68	68	39Escrow Fund established in section 16 of chapter 76 of the acts of 2021, as amended by section 4
69	69	40of chapter 98 of the acts of 2022, and any funds remaining in the federal COVID-19 response
70	70	41fund established in section 2JJJJ of chapter 29 of the General Laws to encourage the equitable
71	71	42deployment of solar facilities located on built land. The executive office of energy and
72	72	43environmental affairs shall transmit the report to the house and senate chairs of the joint
73	73	44committee on telecommunications, utilities and energy, and the chairs of the house and senate
74	74	45committees on ways and means no later than December 31, 2025.
75	75	46 Section 11D. The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center shall create an incentive for roof
76	76	47repair or replacement as part of a rooftop solar project if needed to make solar an economically
77	77	48sound choice, either as a grant program or a feed in tariff via the solar incentive program
78	78	49established in section 11 and in any successor solar incentive program, with priority for buildings
79	79	50in environmental justice communities. By December 31, 2025 the Massachusetts Clean Energy
80	80	51Center shall implement an incentive.
81	81	52 SECTION 5. By December 31, 2025 the department of public utilities shall implement
82	82	53SECTION 3.