A new bill in the House aims to ramp up clean energy, but advocates say it falls short

After decades (and decades) of trying to reform the way that energy projects are approved and sited in Massachusetts, legislators are poised to notch a win after a House energy bill passed Wednesday night.

The reforms — which are expected to cut approval times to less than half the current speed — may seem in the weeds, but they are crucial for expeditiously building out all of the substations and transformers needed to support a transition from fossil fuels to electricity.

“We need to get a handle on the orderly decommissioning of the gas system,” said Kyle Murray, Massachusetts program director at the clean energy advocacy group the Acadia Center. “This isn’t saying we’re going to turn it off overnight, because you can’t do that. But we need a plan in place.”

The Senate bill also leans on decommissioning leaky gas pipes when possible, rather than just replacing or repairing them.

To read the full article from the Boston Globe, click here.