MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY RESOURCES
Every collected paper, preprint and grant naming this institution, exactly as the source spells it.
- Purpose
the state energy plan funds will be used to supplement salaries of agency personnel and provide funds for energy related data and yearly subscriptions to industry news for agency staff working on sep grant related activities which will benefit the commonwealth with clean, affordable, equitable and a resilient energy future.
planned activities/objectives
the ma department of energy resources (doer) has planned three (3) activities for program year.
1. clean peak, grid modernization, storage and transportation
clean peak
the massachusetts clean peak energy standard (cps) is designed to provide incentives to clean energy technologies, such as energy storage, that can supply electricity or reduce demand during seasonal peak demand periods established by the department of energy resources (doer). by providing an incentive for the time of generation, doer is hoping to influence when system owners dispatch their systems in order to achieve the most benefit to the distribution system and the commonwealth. the cps also provides additional incentives for resources which provide resiliency benefits, are located in areas where there are significant benefits to siting resources, and dispatch during the highest peak time of the month.
grid modernization
doer is advancing policies to ensure massachusetts will have a modernized electric grid capable of supporting widespread distributed energy resources and electrification technologies like heat pumps and electric vehicles. doer serves as chair of the grid modernization advisory council (gmac), which reviews and provides recommendations on massachusetts investor-owned electric distribution companies’ (edcs) electricsector modernization plans (esmps). the gmac is an integral part of increasing transparency and stakeholder engagement in the grid planning process and is meeting on a monthly basis to develop stakeholder understanding of grid planning topics and develop a strategic plan for grid modernization and planning activities in the forthcoming years. additionally, in 2025, doer is engaging as an intervenor in dockets at the department of public utilities (dpu) to advocate for grid modernization and distribution system planning, including in dockets related to the esmps, new rate designs for electric vehicles, and long-term system planning for proactive grid investments. doer is also conducting a technical potential of load management study with consultant support and planned stakeholder engagement. by reducing peak electricity demand, load management measures like energy efficiency, demand response, and virtual power plants can reduce the amount of grid infrastructure needed to provide reliable, clean electric service. through this study, doer is further studying the load management landscape in the commonwealth and the potential for load management to build on the existing portfolio to achieve further savings for ratepayers.
storage
doer will continue to work with the clean energy center (cec) as the $20m in energy storage demonstration projects proceed through construction and operation.
the massachusetts clean peak energy standard (cps) is designed to provide incentives to clean energy technologies, such as energy storage, that can supply electricity or reduce demand during seasonal peak demand periods established by doer. by providing an incentive for the time of generation, doer is hoping to influence when system owners dispatch their systems in order to achieve the most benefit to the distribution system and the commonwealth. the cps also provides additional incentives for resources which provide resiliency benefits, are located in areas where there are significant benefits to siting resources, and dispatch during the highest peak time of the month.
in 2025, doer intends to launch a new $50 million energy storage grant program. the program is currently being designed with support from stakeholders and will issue a straw proposal before a final design is selected.
lastly, doer will be coordinating with the massachusetts electric distribution companies on the procurement of energy storage resources as directed by the massachusetts legislature.
transportation
the goal of the transportation program is to reduce emissions from the transportation sector.
the department of energy resources (doer) continues to host the clean cities coalition. the clean cities coordinator provides educational services and public outreach to improve public and private awareness of alternative fuels technologies, including plug-in hybrid, battery electric, biofuels and other technologies to reduce emissions. the program is intended to demonstrate the cost effectiveness of the use of alternative transportation technologies and reduce ghg emissions.
massachusetts offers rebates for electric vehicles (mor-ev) is a massachusetts program that issues rebates to electric vehicle drivers and fleet owners. these programs aim to provide air pollution emission reductions for the commonwealth by increasing the use of light-, medium-, and heavy- duty electric vehicles. doer manages the mor-ev rebate programs which will not only include rebates for new vehicles later in py2025 but used light- duty vehicle rebates for income- qualified applicants as well. the mor-ev incentives are available to consumers who are residents of the commonwealth, and for some vehicle types, corporations and nonprofit entities that purchase or lease eligible electric vehicles may also seek rebate funding. for qualified low- income applicants, the program offers a rebate adder in addition to the standard new or used vehicle rebate. light-duty vehicle rebate applicants can also apply for a trade-in rebate if they are trading in a qualifying internal combustion engine vehicle when purchasing or leasing an electric vehicle. for medium and heavy- duty vehicles, a rebate adder is available for eligible vehicles that are registered or operate at least 50% of the time in designated environmental justice communities.
as the electric vehicle market matures, doer supports electric vehicle infrastructure buildout decisions to make sure evses are located to support the expansion of the ev market. as the energy policy agency of the administration, the doer participates in electric company rate cases and dockets in front of the department of public utilities (dpu). in this role, the doer provides policy analysis and comments on electric distribution company programs that support evse infrastructure, off--peak charging incentives, fleet advisory services, and other programs as proposed by the companies.
2. renewables portfolio standards
the massachusetts renewable and clean peak energy portfolio standards (rps and cps) are statutory obligations that require retail electricity suppliers to obtain a percentage of electricity from qualifying generation units.
the rps began with an obligation of 1% in 2003 and has now increased to roughly 27% in 2025 and will continue to grow 3% each year until 2029. beyond 2029 the program will increase 1% each year. the green communities act of 2008 established other rps classes and subclasses, such as a carve out for solar systems and waste-to-energy systems and the rate of increase is set by the massachusetts legislature.
the rps programs have effectively stimulated new renewable energy development. the minimum standard has been successfully met with new generation with only small shortages since 2007. in addition, the commonwealth has seen tremendous growth in its solar programs and met its initial goal of installing 1,600 mw by 2020 by mid-2017 and in 2020 surpassed 2,700 mw. in response to the rapid pace of deployment, doer developed the solar massachusetts renewable target (smart) incentive program, which was launched in november 2018. the tariff- based program allowed for an additional 1,600 mw of solar to participate for the new incentive, which was later increased to 3,200 mw. since its launch, approximately 55,000 applications have been submitted, and approximately 2 gw ac of the capacity is committed. however, due to volatile prices beginning in 2020, the smart program has seen a decline in the rate of applications being submitted. doer is currently in the process of updating the smart program and anticipates filing draft regulations in 2025 with the new program rolling out in 2026. the revision will focus on changing the structure of the program from a declining block structure to an annual adjustable structure. this will allow doer to annually evaluate the cost to deploy solar, progress towards meeting 2050 requirements, and impacts on ratepayers.
in 2019, doer rolled out the clean peak energy standard (cps), which provides incentive to projects based on their impact on peak load. renewable energy projects and battery storage systems receive an incentive for dispatching during times of peak demand when the grid is the dirtiest. additionally, demand response
resources (such as smart thermostats and load curtailment technologies) receive incentive for reducing load during peak windows. the program had a relatively slow start, and has historically been undersupplied since 2020, resulting in large amounts of alternative compliance payments (acp) collected by doer. in 2024, doer reviewed the cps program to identify ways to qualify more projects, reduce acp collection, and also implement a competitive procurement in partnership with the massachusetts electric distribution companies (edcs) to provide long term contracts to resources for their clean peak energy certificates (cpecs). this long- term financing will provide significant benefits to projects and result in an increase in qualified cps capacity. in november 2024, the massachusetts legislature passed legislation to authorize a large scale procurement of energy storage, which will subsume the cps procurement. the legislation required the electric distribution companies, in coordination with doer to procure 5,000 mw of energy storage by 2030.
in 2025, the renewable energy division at doer plans to continue to implement the rps and cps programs, conduct a rulemaking to improve the smart program in order to ensure maximum efficiency, issue a request for proposal for the first round of energy storage procurement, and continue to work towards deploying historic amounts of renewable resources in massachusetts.
3. resiliency and energy security
the massachusetts doer is responsible for developing and administering policies, plans and programs related to energy emergencies with the overall objective of protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the commonwealth. the goal of efforts within the resiliency and energy security program is to enhance the commonwealth’s energy security and resilience to all hazards, mitigate the impacts of disruptive events and risk to the sector overall through preparedness and planning, and assist in facilitating the recovery from energy disruptions in collaboration with other state agencies, the private sector, federal government, and local government.
energy security stakeholder engagement
the department of energy resources (doer) biweekly regional winter fuel coordination calls with liquid fuel stakeholders in new england and new york. the intent of these calls is to provide a forum to increase regional communication across all sectors concerning delivered fuels in new england and new york. the coordination calls are conducted in a webinar format and allow industry and government stakeholders to share information about potential or actual energy supply or delivery issues and coordinate response and mitigation actions to resolve or mitigate problems. the calls serve as a “one-stop shop” for biweekly updates on energy situations affecting the region and individual states. the doer senior energy security and resilience lead will continue these calls during winter 2025-26 with approximately eight calls planned. doer utilizes this same format and group of roughly 150 stakeholders to share information and coordinate response actions in energy emergency events occurring outside winter months as well.
the department of energy resources bi-weekly winter energy supply, pricing, and outlook webinars for stakeholders within the executive office of energy and environmental affairs (eoeea). these meetings are conducted approximately bi- weekly during the winter heating season or during periods of time when there are actual or potential energy supply constraints involving liquid fuels, natural gas or electricity. participants include the doer commissioner, dpu chairperson, undersecretary of energy and other state-level stakeholders within the executive office of energy and environmental affairs (eoeea) with responsibilities concerning energy security, reliability and resiliency. the doer senior energy security and resilience lead has conducted these bi-weekly calls over the past several winter heating seasons. topics include current pricing, inventories/supplies, potential or actual delivery logistics issues, or other constraint issues or concerns. the calls also provide an opportunity to review any potential regional, national, or international issues with energy supply or distribution with potential impacts on the region. a webinar presentation briefing format is utilized. during winter 2025-26 approximately eight webinars are planned, however, the total may be adjusted based on need or conditions. this format is also utilized during other periods of the year when issues or concerns related to energy security arise, providing a common format and structure for information sharing, coordination and response across the secretariat.
doer will continue to participate in national and regional energy security coordination calls and webinars with other state energy offices, the department of energy, and the national association of state energy officials. doer participates in monthly and quarterly regional and national energy security coordination calls with other states, doe ceser, and naseo. during the 2025-26 planning year, doer expects to continue this, with approximately 12 monthly national coordination calls as well as other calls with the department of energy ceser office on winter and summer preparedness, an annual esf-12 (energy) coordination meeting to review roles and responsibilities, and other related energy security planning activities. during 2025-2026, the doer senior
energy security and resilience lead will continue to serve on the naseo energy security committee leadership team representing the northeast states.
doer will continue to staff iso-new england committees and meetings related to reliability, transmission, and planning. doer staff will continue to staff monthly meetings of several iso-new england standing committees and working groups with a nexus on regional energy security, reliability, and resiliency. this includes the transmission, planning and reliability committees. several projects within these committees have a direct impact on energy security, reliability and resiliency. active projects include the 2050 transmission study process examining future transmission needs out to 2050 needed to accommodate future energy generation demands, compliance with ferc order 1920a requiring regional transmission planning for the future, and the (pending) ferc order 2023a requiring interconnection queue reform to ensure generators that are first ready to interconnect are first served in the interconnection queue. during 2025-2026 we expect the iso to issue a final ferc order 2023a that will finalize reform of the interconnection queue and study process to speed up the interconnection process for new generation resources in the interconnection queue. in addition, other committees are exploring the mechanisms to transition to a prompt seasonal energy market for procuring generation resources to be more responsive to market dynamics and changing generation resources. doer expects to continue to staff at least 3 committees and various other iso-ne related working groups and initiatives. we expect approximately 3 monthly meetings in the coming year (30 total).
doer will continue to participate in massachusetts emergency management agency-led state emergency support function (esf) team meetings, preparedness, and pre-incident planning calls as a lead supporting state agency for esf-12 (energy). during 2025-26, doer will continue to participate in regularly scheduled massachusetts esf team meetings. currently held biannually, esf team meetings provide an opportunity for mema and esf stakeholders to meet and review ongoing coordination, preparedness and planning activities as well as trainings. during planning year 2025-26, the esf team meetings are expected to remain biannual (spring and fall) and be supplemented with pre-hurricane season and pre-winter planning meeting. in addition, mema also conducts occasional exercises and trainings for esf team members as well as critical infrastructure branch esf team meetings. doer expects to participate in approximately six esf team related meetings in the 2025-26 planning year.
energy security planning
the department of energy resources will continue to lead efforts in further updating the state energy security plan (sesp) related to requirements in the 2021 infrastructure and investment jobs act (iija). during the 2023-24 planning year, doer was notified by doe ceser the 2023 massachusetts sesp had fully met the requirements detailed in the iija. in plan year 2024-25, doer continued to make incremental plan improvements to reflect ongoing work related to energy security planning. of note, we expect to update elements related to state fusion center cyber coordination and the risk assessment and mitigation approaches portions of the plan for 2025. in 2025-26 doer will further update the state energy profile and the vulnerability and risk assess
MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY RESOURCES
Pilot / demonstration · Innovation or demonstration award.From US DOE, via USAspending · not yet reviewed