Jennifer Daloisio and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center are both facing a bit of uncertainty.
The agency, a key cog in the state’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, is about to emerge from the bureaucratic shadows as the state prepares to dive into clean energy in a big way.
But how the agency will emerge remains a bit unclear as the legislative session came to an end on Sunday with climate change legislation still in play. The climate change legislation could provide a lot more funding to the Clean Energy Center, but how much is up in the air as the Legislature amended the governor’s amended version of the original bill and sent it back to him, putting him in the position of either having to veto it or letting it become law.
Daloisio joined the center after 20 years at Deloitte, working there with utilities, power plant operators, and clean energy startups. She spent seven years as the Clean Energy Center’s chief financial officer and about a year ago moved into the CEO position.
“It’s a really exciting time and there’s a lot going on,” she said on The Codcast.
That’s an understatement.
The center was created to facilitate clean energy development in all sorts of ways. It operates the wind technology testing center in Charlestown and the offshore wind terminal in New Bedford. It is charged with promoting the decarbonization of the building and transportation sectors, facilitating the development of the offshore wind industry, and helping to train the workforce for clean energy industries.
Daloisio, sounding very much like a business consultant, said the center examines the clean energy market, identifies barriers to the adoption of new technologies, and then pursues solutions in the public and private sectors.
The center’s passive house challenge was a good example, she said. Reducing energy consumption of dwellings is a high priority for the state, so the Clean Energy Center offered financial incentives to developers who built so-called passive houses – houses that require ultra-low levels of energy for heating and cooling.
Daloisio said the center provided incentives for the construction of 540 passive house units, a process that demonstrated the standard for such dwellings could be met with just a 2 percent cost premium.
The center currently has a staff of 64 full-time employees and 13 interns and has a budget of $44 million, with more than half the revenue coming from assessments on electricity utility bills that add up to about 30 cents a month on the typical bill.
Both the Legislature and Gov. Charlie Baker want the Clean Energy Center to scale up its operations. Attorney General Maura Healey, a Democratic candidate for governor, has called for tripling the size of the staff of the Clean Energy Center.
With Baker and lawmakers wrangling over details of the climate bill, Daloisio begged off when asked how big a staff she needs. She also indicated she isn’t overly concerned about the center losing any momentum with a change in administrations after Gov. Charlie Baker steps down in January because appointees to the new board can be on-boarded quickly.
“This is really an interesting time to be in clean energy and climate,” she said. “I’m happy to be here and looking forward to continuing on.”
BRUCE MOHL
FROM COMMONWEALTH
Only one tax cut survives: After pulling an all-nighter, groggy state lawmakers pull the plug on their $1 billion package of tax cuts and one-time payments to residents. The lawmakers said the state can’t afford the tax cuts along with a $3 billion tax cap giveback coming soon, even though Gov. Charlie Baker and two policy organizations said the state can. Read more.
Safety stand-down: The Federal Transit Administration orders a safety stand-down at the MBTA related to runaway disabled trains. Read more.
Climate change back and forth: Gov. Charlie Baker proposed an overhaul of the Legislature’s climate change bill on Friday and on Sunday the Legislature sent a new version of the bill back to the governor accepting a few of his requests but rejecting most of them. Baker will now have to decide whether to veto the bill, sign it into law, or allow it to become law without his signature. Read more.
Abortion rights bill signed: Gov. Charlie Baker signs a sweeping abortion rights bill into law. Read more.
No test without consent: The Supreme Judicial Court rules that police cannot test a person’s blood for alcohol content without the person’s consent. Read more.
Rikelman nominated: President Biden nominated Julia Rikelman, a prominent reproductive rights attorney, for a federal appeals court judgeship. Read more.
OPINION
Numbers don’t lie: Cambridge resident John Hanratty says statistics compiled by the city undermine the claims of city officials that Porter Square is the municipality’s most dangerous intersection. Read more.
Way late again: Jerry Berger, who directs the Statehouse reporting program at Boston University, says it was last-minute business as usual on Beacon Hill this weekend. Read more.
FROM AROUND THE WEB
BEACON HILL
The Legislature pauses its tax relief proposal and scraps plans for $250 stimulus checks due to late-emerging information about a potential tax refund due to all residents. (MassLive) They do reach last-minute agreement, however, on bills dealing with sports betting, mental health, and updating the state’s gun laws. (Boston Globe)
MUNICIPAL MATTERS
Quincy suffers a second legal setback in its attempt to block Boston from rebuilding the Long Island bridge when a state court judge rules that state environmental officials were correct in allowing the project to move forward. (Patriot Ledger)
HEALTH/HEALTH CARE
Birth rates have returned to their pre-pandemic levels in Massachusetts and other New England states. (Boston Globe)
WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL
Rep. Seth Moulton files a bill that would let mass shooters be prosecuted as terrorists. (Eagle-Tribune)
ELECTIONS
Affordable housing is the hot topic at a forum for the Democrats running for attorney general in Lawrence. (Salem News)
Western Massachusetts elected officials are split in the lieutenant governor’s race, and are not all backing the local candidate, Sen. Eric Lesser of Longmeadow. (MassLive)
WBUR profiles Geoff Diehl, a Republican candidate for governor who hopes to ride a nationwide red wave into office.
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
Realtors say the hot real estate market is showing signs of slowing down as interest rates rise, with fewer bidding wars. (MassLive)
Serial Boston area entrepreneur Paul English sells his latest startup, podcast discovery app Moonbeam, to fund his next foray. (Boston Globe)
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/COURTS
After three teenagers are shot outside a Dorchester house party on Saturday, Suffolk DA Kevin Hayden warns of a “generational calamity of the kind we haven’t witnessed for decades.” (Boston Herald)
The Supreme Judicial Court will take up a case that could address how to handle defendants of past drunk driving cases in light of problems that have emerged with the Breathalyzer tests used by the police. (Salem News)
There’s a shakeup at the State Police Academy after 20 trainees are injured in two separate incidents of unauthorized training exercises. (Telegram & Gazette)
A patchwork of legal outcomes for Springfield police officers accused of misconduct leaves the department struggling to figure out what kind of discipline to impose and what kind of back pay is warranted. (MassLive)
The Springfield Police Department routinely imposed restrictions on gun licenses, which are now being eliminated due to a US Supreme Court ruling on gun licensing. (MassLive)
The last conviction in the Salem witch trials was cleared 329 years later. (New York Times)
MEDIA
Alabama prison officials reviewed what women reporters attending an execution were wearing and told one her skirt was too short and her open-toed shoes were inappropriate. She was allowed to attend after borrowing pants and putting on her sneaker. (AL.com)
PASSINGS
Celtics great Bill Russell, who led the team to 11 NBA championships and was widely considered the greatest champion in major team sports, while also blazing a trail as a fierce and principled fighter for racial justice, died at age 88. (Boston Globe)