After years of deliberations, negotiations and regulatory rollout — and some well-publicized “agita” in the corner office — a handful of Massachusetts cities and towns can now significantly limit the use of fossil fuels in new building projects.
The state’s Department of Energy Resources gave seven communities the final green light to begin a groundbreaking experiment: they will require new construction and major renovation to embrace fossil fuel-free infrastructure for uses like heating and cooling.
They include Acton, Aquinnah, Brookline, Cambridge, Concord, Lincoln and Lexington, which can now effectively mandate that most construction or significant renovation projects within their borders abstain from oil and gas hookups.
Effective dates vary by community. In several cases, the rules will take effect within three months, though Lincoln’s will not kick in for roughly six months and Aquinnah’s appears to have already started on Jan. 1.
The bylaws themselves vary a bit across cities and towns, with some carving out exceptions like allowing continued fossil fuel use in restaurant kitchens.
Two more communities, Arlington and Newton, won “conditional” acceptance and have until Feb. 11, 2024 to prove they’ve fulfilled affordable housing requirements that are tied to the pilot program.
“This is a huge milestone,” said Lisa Cunningham, co-founder of ZeroCarbonMA, an advocacy group that has pushed for the program. “I hope it’s only the beginning of a sea change in the way we think about building, not just in Massachusetts but throughout the country.”
The Healey administration did not publicly tout the formal go-ahead notice that DOER issued to communities on Dec. 22. A DOER official confirmed the approvals on Thursday following a News Service inquiry and said it had not been announced earlier due to the holiday season.
Buildings are responsible for about 35 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in Massachusetts, making them the second-largest source behind the transportation sector, according to the Healey administration’s climate report card. Supporters argue that the gas bans it will kick off a shift away from fossil fuel infrastructure in buildings across the Bay State.
“This [program] still gets at just the tip of the iceberg because we’re talking new or significantly new construction,” she said. “We now have to look to decarbonizing our built environment and our existing buildings.”
The nine communities moving forward with local restrictions on fossil fuels in construction are part of a “demonstration program” lawmakers created in a 2022 climate and clean energy bill. Then-Gov. Charlie Baker initially voiced concerns about the idea leading to exclusionary zoning, saying the proposal “gives me agita,” before ultimately giving his approval.
The program has 10 slots. West Tisbury withdrew its application after leaders there said they would not be able to meet the affordable housing requirements, and that opened up a spot for another city or town. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu spent months pushing for the state’s largest city to take part, but ultimately chose not to apply. Somerville and Northampton did and await a decision by DOER.
Cunningham, whose group has endorsed legislation to lift the pilot program cap altogether and allow any willing community to restrict fossil fuels in construction, said she believes adding Somerville into the mix would make more of an immediate difference.
“It’s important to get a bigger community, a community that has a large [environmental justice] population in it,” she said. “Both of those things cover Somerville.”