BOSTON, Mass. (WWLP)– Governor Maura Healey signed an executive order Tuesday that will change how clean energy projects and infrastructure are approved.
The order creates the Commission on Clean Energy Infrastructure Siting and Permitting (CEISP). The CEISP will be tasked with a host of priorities to put Massachusetts on a better step forward to clean energy goals. The state has set a goal to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
According to the Governor’s office, the state “will need to site a significant amount of new energy infrastructure” to meet state goals, including solar and wind creation, “storage, transmission and distribution infrastructure.”
Healey says the tasks of the CEISP are to make permitting timelines shorter, to make sure constituents have input in siting and permitting, and to make sure the clean energy transition is done equitably.
After Healey signed the executive order, she addressed the commission saying,” We’re only going to be as good as our ability to move quickly in this space, we have to move quickly. The goals are incredibly important, and we are grateful to the legislature for holding the state accountable, making sure that we are setting those goals. Now’s about the execution, the implementation, the x’s and o’s, getting it done, the how. And to do that effectively, we believe, it requires input from all of you.”
The 30 member Commission representing several sectors was also sworn in, from state agencies, to environmental justice organizations to members of the legislature. The governor said she hopes to receive the commission’s report by this spring.
Ellen Fleming is a reporter at the Boston State House who has been a part of the 22News team since 2022. Follow Ellen on X @EllenFlem and view her bio to see more of her work.
