Rhode Island starts to wrestle with what its net-zero goal means for natural gas

Rhode Island utility regulators are beginning to consider what the state’s mandate to zero out greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 means for its natural gas system.

The state Public Utilities Commission, or PUC, has opened a docket to investigate the future of the gas distribution business, a response to the passage last year of the Act on Climate.

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Hank Webster, Rhode Island director for the Acadia Center, a clean energy advocacy organization, said it’s crucial for the state to start this discussion now.

“The gas distribution system is one of the major sources of greenhouse gasses,” he said. “Every time a new gas connection is made, adding to ratepayer costs, it locks in long-term fossil fuel use.”

Read the full article at Energy News Network here. 

National Grid customers could see 64% increase in electric bills

BOSTON (WHDH) – National Grid customers could be in for quite the shock when they open their utility bills this winter.

The company has announced its winter rates, which go into effect on Nov. 1, stating that residential customers that use electricity can expect a price increase of 64%.

That means if you paid the typical $179 a month last winter, be ready for a monthly bill of at least $293. And it is not just an electric shock, either: customers who use gas will also feel a 22-24% price hike.

“At National Grid, this is the highest we’ve experienced,” said National Grid Chief Customer Officer Helen Burt. “Our customers pay what we pay. We’ve kept our electric distribution and transportation piece of the bill flat, year-over-year, and so this is entirely due to the cost of energy in the marketplace now.

Eversource is also predicting its gas customers will see their bills rise anywhere from 25% to 38%.

The massive price increases are reportedly due to natural gas production dropping during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the war in Ukraine, both straining production.

“Really, (customers) need to reach out to legislators to push for A, more renewables, more clean energy, and B, in the very short term, bill relief,” said Senior Policy Advocate Kyle Murray of the Acadia Center.

Read the full article here.

Trouble brewing in the power grid as officials warn of possible electricity shortages in N.E. this winter

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“Investing in more fossil fuel infrastructure is not going to solve the problem,” said Melissa Birchard, the director of clean energy and grid transition for the Acadia Center, a clean energy advocacy group. “It just continues our cycle of not investing in clean resources, and can exacerbate climate change.”

Read the full article in The Boston Globe here. 

Local researchers are aiming to create the perfect battery. The stakes couldn’t be higher.

Researchers and companies around the world are racing to solve the problem of storing clean energy when the sun isn’t shining on solar farms or the wind isn’t turning turbines. Of course, good batteries are already in common use in electric vehicles and Tesla Power walls, but those batteries rely primarily on lithium, cobalt, manganese, nickel, and other rare materials. They’re expensive, flammable, and their materials available in limited supplies and from just a few locations, including in China, Congo, and some of the deepest parts of the ocean.

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Environmental advocates in Massachusetts said they’re hopeful that technological breakthroughs would accelerate the adoption of large battery storage systems, especially as thousands of megawatts of new offshore wind are built in the region’s waters.

Kyle Murray, a senior policy advocate at the Massachusetts Acadia Center, called the region’s current rate of adoption “woefully slow.”

“We need to speed up the process so we can meet our state decarbonization goals and tackle the climate emergency,” he said. “We currently have batteries that can already do some marvelous things for society, and we need to be deploying more of them. That needs to be paired with developing and deploying new, amazing technologies.”

Read the full article in The Boston Globe here. 

Park City Wind Asks Connecticut to Adjust Energy Bid ‘to Reflect Current Economic Realities’

Avangrid Senior Vice President for Offshore Projects, Sy Oytan, said that the company will ask Connecticut for a “modest adjustment” to the state’s contract to buy power from the company’s planned 804 megawatt Park City Wind project south of Martha’s Vineyard, to “reflect the current economic realities.”

In a call with investors on Thursday, Oytan said the company would be delaying by a year both its Park City project and the 1,200 MW Commonwealth Wind project, and would ask both Connecticut and Massachusetts to adjust contracts to buy power from those projects.

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Melissa Birchard, director of clean energy for the nonprofit renewable advocate Acadia Center, said that the “short delay” of the two projects is understandable given the global challenges in energy.

Birchard said it’s good news that the delay still keeps the projects in line to be completed within the timeframes laid out in their contracts with the states. She said the push for offshore wind needs to continue on multiple fronts, to make sure that progress is still being made even if individual projects are delayed.

“We need to do everything we can to bring offshore wind to customers as soon as possible, along with other renewables,” Birchard said. “The spiking costs of fossil fuels are hurting families and businesses and the impacts of climate change are getting worse every year.”

Read the full article in The CT Examiner here.

Will the Inflation Reduction Act Meet Environmental Justice Goals?

On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law. This act makes provisions for healthcare, job opportunities, and climate and energy security. The law contains clean energy infrastructure for transportation, housing, solar, and wind facilities, prioritizing low-income and environmental justice communities. Through the IRA, around $60 billion will be allocated toward environmental justice communities and low-income communities with investments made towards infrastructure and improved funding. 

The Biden administration has been forward in its response to meeting demands of climate and clean energy transition. Early on, the administration demonstrated its commitment to mitigating climate impacts and consideration to environmental justice by issuing Executive Order 14008 titled Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad. While that order quickly set the pace in putting climate and environmental justice discourse forefront, the recent Inflation Reduction Act builds on previous efforts including climate bills, Build Back Better Act (BBBA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) (IIJA), placing the nation at an advantageous position to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reach climate targets in the near decade.  

The IRA provides an opportunity to establish clean energy infrastructure in low-income and environmental justice communities. Such infrastructure can provide energy credit for solar and wind facilities situated in the communities, thus ensuring increased clean energy deployment and economic benefit to those overburdened and disadvantaged communities. The dividends for environmental and climate justice were expanded to include grants and financial incentives provided through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Transport (DOT), Department of Housing and Urban Development, and a few other federal agencies. This will provide federal intervention that reaches environmental justice communities, low-income communities, and tribal communities to reduce pollution and environmental injustice across the country.  

The Inflation Reduction Act provides funding for pollution monitoring equipment and cleanups needed to address environmental injustice—a key provision for which Acadia Center advocated as a companion policy to the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI).  While the law is particularly aimed to provide infrastructure on clean technologies that get situated in already disadvantaged communities, it is essential that implementation of these programs, grants, and financial incentives are administered with clarity through a transparent approach that is led by the voices and participation of communities across the country. 

Though the Inflation Reduction Act may be the biggest and most ambitious climate legislation enacted to provide climate solutions and support low-income communities, environmental justice communities, and tribal communities, continued climate leadership and stewardship is needed for climate solutions and environmental justice. The White House Interagency on Environmental Justice and White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, both created through Executive Order 14008, and the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), are examples of equity and environmental justice stewardship at the federal level. With more state and municipality-level engagement from communities of color, tribal communities, and low-income communities, equity and environmental justice in climate action becomes foreseeable. 

For more information: 

Joy Yakie, Manager, Environmental Justice and Outreach, jyakie@acadiacenter.org, 617-742-0054 x110  

The Inflation Reduction Act Makes Climate Change History

The Inflation Reduction Act has passed in the Senate, the House of Representatives, and has been signed into law by President Joe Biden. Alongside desperately needed funding for healthcare, this bill is the first major clean energy investment ever passed in the U.S. The IRA will invest $386 billion dollars into climate related initiatives. Prior to the adoption of the IRA, the U.S. was estimated to be on track to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 25% below 2005 levels by 2030. With the IRA, 2030 emissions are estimated to be about 40% below 2005 levels – demonstrating the magnitude of the bill in reducing emissions. The figure below demonstrates how U.S. “business as usual” (BAU) GHG emissions without the IRA compared to the “low,” “moderate,” and “high” emissions scenario trajectories associated with the IRA.  

According to analysis conducted by Energy Innovation, the IRA also has the potential to deliver significant public health and economic benefits, preventing up to 4,500 premature deaths in 2030 and creating up to 1.3 million jobs in 2030. Let us break down where the $386 billion in the bill is going:

• $161 billion for clean electricity tax credits
• $40 billion for air pollution, hazardous materials, transportation, and infrastructure
• $37 billion for individual clean energy incentives
• $37 billion for clean manufacturing tax credits
• $36 billion for clean fuel and vehicle tax credits
• $35 billion for conservation, rural development, and forestry
• $27 billion in building efficiency, electrification, transmission, industrial, DOE, grants, and loans
• $14 billion in other energy and climate spending

The total cost of the bill, including the healthcare components, comes out to $485 billion spent over the next ten years. However, the investment is predicted to bring in roughly $790 billion in that same period, meaning this bill is projected to have a net profit of $305 billion over the next decade. That profit will go towards reducing the deficit and controlling inflation.

The IRA represents the most significant federal action to fight climate change in our nation’s history, taking specific steps to address greenhouse gas emissions from buildings, transportation, and power generation. Here are how the investments align with Acadia Center’s longstanding mission to “Advance the Clean Energy Future” throughout the Northeast.

Buildings
First and foremost, the IRA offers significant federal resources to advance a package of actions Acadia Center calls “Next Generation Energy Efficiency.” Acadia Center has been working throughout the northeast to urge utility companies and regulators to prioritize making our region’s homes and businesses more thermally comfortable and energy efficient through simple actions like better insulation and air sealing of building envelopes as well as replacing inefficient fossil fuel appliances like furnaces, boilers, water heaters, and cooktops with superior all-electric appliances. The combination of these steps significantly reduces the overall amount of fossil fuels used in these buildings, reduces energy bills, and improves overall quality of life by making our living and working spaces healthier, safer, and more versatile.

By focusing these coordinated activities on especially high emitting buildings in our region, we can amplify these multi-faceted benefits even further. For instance, in the residential sector, the leakiest 25% of housing units in New England produce more than half of greenhouse gas emissions attributable to housing. Statistically, these households are far more likely to be low-income and occupied by renters. Nearly all (96%) of high emitting housing units are heated by fossil fuels, which are several times less energy efficient than all-electric heat pumps. Tens of billions for investments in building retrofits and energy efficiency will yield a significant reduction in local air pollution and global greenhouse gas emissions.

What it means for you:

The IRA introduces a slew of new tax credits and upfront discounts for clean building technologies for both homeowners and renters alike. All homeowners, regardless of income, will have access to tax credits to support the purchase and installation technologies including geothermal heat pumps, air source heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, and electrical panel upgrades that are sometimes necessary to support the installation of these technologies. As an example, tax credits for heat pumps will be as high as $2,000.

Low-income (defined as less than 80% of median area income) and moderate-income (80%-150% of median area income) homeowners will have access to several upfront discounts for technologies including heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, electric induction stoves, heat pump clothes dryers, electric panel upgrades, and electric wiring upgrades. As an example, upfront discounts for heat pumps will be as high as $8,000. Upfront discounts for moderate-income households will cover up to 50% of the project cost, while discounts for low-income households will cover up to 100% of the project cost. Low-income and moderate-income renters have access to upfront discounts for clean building technologies that could be relocated in the event of a move, including heat pump window units, electric stoves, and heat pump clothes dryers. A combination of tax credits, upfront discounts and performance rebates will also be available to improve the efficiency of homes – ranging from basic weatherization to more comprehensive retrofits.

Additional measures in the IRA will work to address rampant levels of methane leakage occurring throughout the country related to the production of “fossil gas” also known as “natural gas.” This gas is primarily methane, which has a global warming potential of over 80 times that of carbon dioxide in its first 20 years in the atmosphere. Leaking methane is also a significant safety hazard as leaks in the distribution pipes and inside of households are responsible for fires and sudden catastrophic explosions. Specifically, the IRA calls for the implementation of a “methane emissions charge” for oil and natural gas production facilities that are not in compliance with EPA methane emissions regulations.

Acadia Center’s Beyond Gas initiative works to reduce the combustion and leaking of methane by transitioning both power generation and buildings away from today’s overreliance on fossil gas and by prioritizing the strategic repair of leaking pipe sections that are not immediately ready for decommissioning.

Transportation
Acadia Center has long worked on a multi-pronged Clean Transportation strategy to reduce tailpipe emissions through electrification of vehicles, expanding transit access and improving networks, and connecting communities through investments in safe, dedicated pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. The IRA falls short of taking significant actions to modernize transit and personal mobility infrastructure networks[1], but does prioritize historic measures to accelerate vehicle electrification, ranging from personal vehicles to heavy-duty vehicles like buses and garbage trucks.

What it means for you:

The IRA includes a first-ever $4,000 consumer tax credit for lower/middle income individuals to buy used electric vehicles and up to $7,500 in tax credits to buy new electric vehicles—these programs will effectively extend and expand the current federal electric vehicle incentives that have started to expire under existing law. The tax credits for new vehicles are available to those with an adjusted gross income (AGI) below $150,000 (filing taxes as single) or $300,000 (filing taxes jointly), while the tax credits for used vehicles are available to those with an AGI below $75,000 (filing taxes as single) or $150,000 (filing taxes jointly). Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), which use both electricity and gas, will still qualify for the tax credit if they have a battery of at least 7 kWh in size, a threshold that nearly all models meet.

However, the EV tax credits will not necessarily be easy to navigate for consumers in the short term. To be eligible for the full tax credit, vehicles must both be 1) Assembled in North America and 2) Source the critical minerals need to make the batteries from a U.S. free trade partner. This policy has created some near-term uncertainty for which specific makes and models will qualify. For example, Hyundai and Kia do not currently produce any EVs in North America despite having several EVs available to U.S. consumers. For those seeking more information, electrek is maintaining a detailed list of which vehicles do and do not qualify for the tax incentive under these new requirements.

The law also includes tax credits and grants for clean fuels and clean commercial vehicles to reduce emissions and $3 billion for the U.S. Postal Service to purchase zero-emission vehicles to replace its aging fleet of vehicles that travel throughout our communities every day.

Additionally, the IRA provides $3 billion in Neighborhood Access and Equity Grants that can support neighborhood equity, safety, and affordable transportation access via competitive grants to reconnect communities long divided by redlining practices that developed transportation infrastructure in a manner that intentionally split apart neighborhoods, many of which were primarily inhabited by people of color. These grants can also be used to mitigate the negative impacts of transportation facilities on disadvantaged or underserved communities, as well as to support equitable transportation planning and community engagement activities that should be at the heart of all community-led decision-making processes.

The IRA also provides $3 billion in grants to reduce air pollution at ports, including for the purchase and installation of zero-emission equipment and technology. This will reduce the amount of fossil fuels burned by idling ships and local port machinery and trucking operations. These strategic investments to reduce the amount of heavy-duty vehicle and machinery emissions directly aligns with work Acadia Center has led in the past to address particulate matter emissions generated by diesel engines in overburdened and underserved communities, particularly school buses which expose communities and school children directly to health impacts from poor air quality.

Power Generation
To sustainably power today’s economy and support the transition from fossil fuel burning appliances and vehicles, the IRA makes critical investments to accelerate the expansion of responsibly sited renewable energy resources, including in rural communities. About two thirds of the estimated greenhouse gas emission reductions resulting from the IRA in 2030 are expected to come from the electricity sector. Two of the key provisions driving this reduction are the 10-year extension of the Production Tax Credit (PTC) and Investment Tax Credit (ITC) which have been critical financial carrots driving the rapid deployment of wind and solar. Solar projects will be able to access the PTC for the first time and battery storage, which is critical for accessing the full benefits of renewable electricity, will have access to the ITC for the first time. Combined, the extension and expansion of these tax credits, along with other clean energy provisions in the IRA, will be critical in continuing to drive down the costs of renewable electricity and accelerating the shift away from fossil fuel electricity generation in favor of renewable electricity generation in the northeast.

What it means for you:

The IRA provides a 30% tax credit to all homeowners, regardless of income, to support the purchase and installation of residential rooftop solar and/or battery storage. Both tax credits are in effect for the next 10 years. The battery storage tax credit is brand new, and the solar tax credit represents a long-term extension of the existing solar tax credit that was previously set to decrease and fade away over the next couple of years.

However, these projected declines in electricity sector emissions will not be realized without addressing existing policy barriers hampering the deployment of cheap renewable energy. The challenges currently facing the construction of transmission lines and the interconnection of renewable electricity to the grid continue to persist. That is why Acadia Center remains focused on tackling these complex and technical issues that arise in the transition to a clean energy future.

Acadia Center’s Clean Power and Utility Innovation programs have tirelessly worked to push regulators and the incumbent fossil fuel-utility industrial complex to update business models to prioritize investments in clean energy and dynamic energy systems that provide greater economic and societal benefits to end users. The IRA buttresses that work by incentivizing investments to develop and deploy historic levels of clean energy and to provide support for more robust local participation in permitting and regulatory processes that are key to developing those resources responsibly and with community input.

The IRA also includes more than $20 billion to support climate-smart agriculture practices. Acadia Center partnered with the American Farmland Trust and other organizations to develop the Smart Solar Siting Project for New England that seeks to co-locate renewable energy resources on parcels that also host agricultural activities—a winning strategy that keeps the Northeast’s precious farmland in agricultural use and provides farmers a source of clean, renewable energy and diversified revenue stream to maintain their farm operations for generations to come.

Overall, the IRA represents a great step forward in U.S. climate policy but there is still much work to be done – much of which will need to occur at the state and local levels – to actualize the full potential of the IRA. Acadia Center’s work across its core initiatives will be crucial in ensuring that the IRA delivers the maximum amount of emissions, economic, health and equity benefits to northeastern states.

[1] While the IRA itself may fall short on transit and personal mobility network investments, other large federal legislation of the past few years, such as the American Rescue Plan Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, have provided some direction to those priorities.

Woe is T

An Orange Line that shut down after a train caught fire in July. 

Power problems on the Green and Blue Lines. 

Delays and derailments on the Red Line, with rumors of a shut down as well. 

A driver shortage on the bus lines causing headaches. 

And a commuter rail system subject to occasional shutdowns in both directions. 

Residents of Massachusetts have become frustrated with a public transit system plagued by disruptions and uncertainty. Transportation that many rely upon for daily life has become one that cannot be trusted to safely get you where you need to go when you need to. While the MBTA has struggled with issues for quite some time, a question remains: how did it get this bad so quickly? Harder yet, how do we fix it? And, in the meantime, what does it mean for our air quality as more and more commuters abandon transit and pile into individual vehicles? Our fight against climate does not work unless our transit system does as well. Our political leaders in Massachusetts cannot claim to be fighting for climate as our public transit system struggles. 

In April, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced a safety inspection of the MBTA, and in June they ordered several immediate safety fixes. Unfortunately, as a result of the frequent safety problems and disruptions, the Federal Transit Administration announced an “immediate safety standdown” in July, requiring workers to attend a special safety briefing. This announcement led to the complete shutdown of the Orange Line for immediate emergency repairs, with rumors of a complete takeover of the system circulating. 

In August, the FTA issued its Safety Management Inspection report, a scathing report that highlighted chronic deficiencies. While the MBTA managed to avoid a complete takeover by the FTA, the FTA identified several crucial areas in which the agency has been mismanaged over the years. Some of these 24-identified findings included: 

• Chronic understaffing at the agency 
• Underprioritized safety management information
• Prioritization of the capital budget at the expense of the operations and maintenance budget 
• Deficient oversight from the Department of Public Utilities 

The FTA then ordered fixes to these problems immediately. The issuance of this report also led to the announcement of an oversight hearing by the legislature, to conduct their own investigation. 

The report from the FTA highlights what transit advocates have long known: public transit in Massachusetts has been given the short shrift over the years, resulting in a system that is underinvested in, unreliable, and unsafe. However, the system does not have to remain that way. Unfortunately, while many may look to federal grants for a solution, the Federal Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act did not meaningfully address public transit, making our state leaders’ action even more important. The state legislature, incoming and current executive branch, advocates, and the general public need to come together to find a sustainable funding mechanism that does not heavily rely upon fares and promotes long-term growth, safety, and reliability. Parallel to this funding work, decisionmakers should work to advance other policies, such as fare-free ridership for low-income individuals, and other ways to grow ridership and restore trust in the system. Additionally, beyond public transit, decisionmakers need to embrace mobility shifting and enhance better opportunities for biking and walkable communities. The answers to these ongoing issues are not magic, but they do require dedication, vision, and ingenuity from our elected officials. 

For more information:
Kyle Murray, Senior Policy Advocate-Massachusetts, kmurray@acadiacenter.org, 617-742-0054, ext. 106 

Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) Releases 57th Auction Results

Media Contacts: 

Ben Butterworth, Director: Climate, Energy, and Equity Analysis
bbutterworth@acadiacenter.org, 617-742-0054 x111

Paola Moncada Tamayo, Policy Analyst
ptamayo@acadiacenter.org, 860-246-7121 x204

BOSTON, MA- On Friday, September 9, 2022, the eleven states participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) released the results of the 57th auction. Emissions allowances were sold for $13.45 each, generating $301 million for clean energy investments in participating states. The allowance price for the RGGI program has declined for the first time since June of 2019. The Cost Containment Reserve (“CCR”) Trigger Price of $13.91 per ton was avoided, so no CCR allowances were sold in the auction. The proceeds from sales of allowances in the 57th auction was the third highest of all time, lower than only the proceeds from the 54th and 56th auction held in December of 2021 and June 2022.  

Higher RGGI allowance price is good for climate, clean energy investment  

The auction clearing price of $13.45 represents a modest 3% decrease from the previous auction in June, but a significant 45% increase from the auction price from one year ago. The clearing price represents the price that power plant operators must pay for each ton of CO2 emitted by their fossil-fuel-fired plants. The higher allowance prices seen in 2022 mean the RGGI program is sending a stronger incentive to produce electricity from carbon-free sources, like wind and solar. Recent auctions have demonstrated the growing significance of the CCR – the two most recent auctions narrowly avoided the CCR trigger price, while the 54th auction in December 2021 represented the first time since 2015 that additional allowances were released because of triggering the CCR.  

Since the program launched, the vast majority of RGGI proceeds have been invested in energy efficiency and clean energy projects as detailed in the report on RGGI investments in 2020, released in May of this year. The $301 million in proceeds generated in this auction brings the annual to-date total to $904.8 million, already 98% of the previous year’s record-setting total proceeds with one more remaining auction in 2022. Auction proceeds have increased dramatically in recent years. For example, the auction proceeds of 2022 so far are 73% higher than the total proceeds generated in all 2018 and 2019 auctions combined. This is great news for climate action, the economy, and the growing workforce in energy efficiency and clean energy.  

RGGI Third Program Review Offers an Opportunity to Direct Proceeds Towards Clean Energy Investments that Directly Benefit Environmental Justice Communities  

Since its establishment, RGGI’s priorities have centered around reducing pollution from fossil fuel power plants and achieving climate solutions for RGGI states. Through the sale of CO2 allowances, the market-based program has continued to produce revenue for participating states to invest in clean and renewable energy programs, energy efficiency programs to save energy, bill assistance, and much more. While states continue to report the benefit that RGGI contributes to meeting their climate goals, it is important to ensure that these proceeds are both spent on climate and clean energy and invested in communities that suffer disproportionately from the negative consequences associated with pollution from fossil fuel power generation.  

The Third RGGI Program Review offers a golden opportunity to tailor the program to ensure that environmental justice communities are not left to bear a disproportionate burden and are actively involved in the development of strategies to ensure a smooth, equitable transition to a carbon-free economy. During the program review, it is essential that each RGGI state critically consider equitable investment into communities that face the worst effects of polluting power plants. This ongoing program review provides a chance for states to consider the recent auctions, history of investments across the states, the need to directly address environmental justice communities, and other mechanisms associated with the cap-and-invest program.  

Acadia Center remains closely involved in RGGI policy conversations across the RGGI states and will continue to advocate for program reforms that drive equitable investment and climate action.   

OpEd: Hydrogen shouldn’t have a role in heating buildings

NATIONAL GRID New England President Stephen Woerner recently wrote an op-ed noting how Greek architects practiced “a methodical, systematic style that appropriately balanced aspiration with sound architectural order for enduring results.” He compared this approach to National Grid’s planned strategies for injecting hydrogen and “renewable natural gas” (RNG) into our current pipeline system that distributes fossil (natural) gas to homes and businesses. Had the ancient Greek architects utilized such a short-sighted approach, the Parthenon would have long since crumbled to dust.

Far from the safe and successful heating source that National Grid describes, hydrogen is a highly combustible fuel that poses a significant safety risk in the context of residential and commercial buildings.  In fact, the lion’s share of energy flowing through the gas system would still be made up of methane, a greenhouse gas that is more than 84 times as potent as carbon dioxide.

This methane can come in several forms – natural gas, “renewable natural gas,” or “synthetic natural gas” – but they all suffer from a common problem: producing, distributing, and using these fuels results in massive amounts of methane being released directly to the atmosphere. Updates to New York state’s greenhouse gas accounting for natural gas emissions revealed that over 47 percent of total emissions associated with natural gas consumption in New York are the result of methane leaks along the entire gas supply chain. Massachusetts has gas infrastructure that is in similar shape, if not worse.

In “Majority of US Urban Natural Gas Emissions Unaccounted for in Inventories,” a long-term study by Harvard scientists released in 2021, the authors found six times more methane leaking into the air around Boston than reported in the Massachusetts Greenhouse Gas Inventory compiled by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

Of the six cities studied in the analysis, Boston had the highest natural gas leak rate (4.7 percent) from “well pad to urban consumer.” Because of these leak rates, any plan that relies on distributing a significant quantity of methane through the gas distribution system, like National Grid has proposed, will fall well short of the Commonwealth’s net zero target in 2050.

We agree with National Grid that there are industries which are genuinely difficult to decarbonize, such as shipping and aviation, and will require creative solutions that include green hydrogen. However, that is a far cry from utilizing it for home heating, where better choices are available. It’s essentially the equivalent of saying you could heat your home using $20 bills as kindling in your living room fireplace. Sure, you may be able to do it, but is that really the wisest idea?

Green hydrogen is, and will continue to be, an extremely limited resource. Using it in buildings is a low-value use of a high-value resource and will only make it more challenging to decarbonize the hardest-to-electrify sectors of our economy. Massachusetts has already laid out a roadmap for the future of heating that involves electrifying most buildings – the least-cost “All Options” scenario in the Massachusetts 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap calls for electrification of over 90 percent of residential space heating and 95 percent of residential water heating by 2050.

Whole-home electrification via heat pumps can save energy and money, especially when paired with common-sense weatherization improvements like insulation and air sealing. Heat pumps are also efficient and affordable, especially given the many incentives available at Mass Save, as well as the soon-to-be or already available options in the Inflation Reduction Act. All-electric heating is economical, with affordable housing making up 78 percent of all residential net zero and net zero-ready square footage, up from 54 percent in March 2021. Even without the incentives, an average home that fully converts from propane to heat pumps could save $1,650 annually on fuel. The annual fuel savings from converting to a heat pump will pay for the cost of installation in 5-11 years, and rebates from efficiency programs can increase fuel cost savings and reduce the payback period.

Heat pumps, despite their name, also cool homes significantly more efficiently than traditional air conditioning systems and save money on electric bills in the summer by displacing less efficient air conditioning units. And for those concerned about winter weather, heat pump technology has made major advances over the years, with many models heating homes comfortably in the coldest temperatures.

Maine, the coldest state in the Northeast, has installed over 82,000 heat pumps over the last nine years, including over 21,000 in 2021 alone. Vermont, the region’s second coldest state, has installed heat pumps in about 1 percent of its homes every year since 2015. Heat pumps, paired with properly weatherized buildings, can reliably and affordably keep Massachusetts’ residents warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Right now, we have the chance to adopt solutions that truly transform our building, transportation, and power systems. We cannot follow the old models and systems that led us to the climate crisis in the first place. Our Commonwealth can embrace realistic and proven solutions. Saving green hydrogen and “renewable natural gas” for limited purposes in hard-to-electrify sectors, and electrifying buildings quickly with highly efficient systems is that solution.

This OpEd was published in CommonWealth Magazine.