ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
CommonWealth Beacon breaks down the latest energy and environmental policy news in Massachusetts, including moves in renewable energy, conservation, and innovation.
Was a vote to seize Northeastern University land for conservation in ‘bad faith’?
The justices grappled with when it might be necessary for them to probe the intentions of a town meeting, in this case by digging into whether Nahant is trying to make legitimate use of eminent domain power to preserve coastal land for public use or engaged in a cynical attempt to block future development.
Cold weather threatens to take bite out of Healey’s energy savings bid
If consistently below-average temperatures drag deeper into the winter, the average ratepayer might still wind up with comparatively higher bills as their heating systems use more energy to warm homes.
House energy chair must be removed from post over his controversial climate bill, Mass. Sierra Club says
The move kicks the already-high tension around energy issues in Massachusetts up a notch and offers somewhat of a finer point on the political fallout from Cusack’s proposal last year.
Next up on Beacon Hill: House leaders plan closed-door meetings on Healey’s energy affordability bill
The political pressure to lower energy prices in the Bay State, home to the third-highest electricity costs in the country and rising gas bills, has intensified and will likely continue to escalate in an election year for both Healey and the Legislature.
Healey administration pushes back clean heat standard to 2028 as affordability concerns mount
Oil, propane, and natural gas providers would need to gradually cut their emissions each year under the program and buy credits to offset their pollution, costs which in theory could be passed on to consumers, which would run counter to Gov. Maura Healey’s attempts to lower energy costs.
New report: Gas utilities spent record amount replacing leaky pipes in 2024
The latest data on utilities’ work to replace leaky pipes paints an even more damning picture of GSEP as costs balloon with few additional results — driving up ratepayer bills — and places recent reform efforts into greater context.
Mass. insurer of last resort wrestles with thorny questions around affordability
Now, after the FAIR Plan saw its largest single-year jump in 2024 in new enrollees in two decades, the plan will need to decide this year whether it wants to raise the rates it charges — something that hasn’t happened in 20 years.
What to expect when you’re expecting (legislative action)
Major policy issues like housing affordability, primary care access, and utility bills loom over Beacon Hill in 2026, when voters could also decide a dozen ballot questions and pick statewide elected officials.
Massachusetts pushes offshore wind contract negotiations into 2026
The negotiations had been set to wrap up by the end of the year after a deal wasn’t clinched six months ago but are now extended through June 2026 and appear likely to be frozen for most of if not all of President Trump’s term.
Five Codcasts from 2025
CommonWealth Beacon reporters moderated panels and guided conversations on some of the thorniest problems facing the state. Here are five Codcasts from 2025 worth revisiting — or checking in on for the first time — as the new year kicks off.
Our top five housing stories of 2025
The Bay State’s housing crunch seemed to reach into all corners in 2025, tying up courts, lawmakers navigating climate and transportation concerns, groups dependent on federal fair housing funding, and services promising to make it easier for more people to afford to live in pricey Massachusetts.
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