State Recommends Fossil Fuel-Free Pilot Continue
Early data shows a pilot project that allows 10 towns to require new buildings be fossil fuel-free is creating more energy-efficient development.
Drastic Changes Needed to Balance Emissions Reductions and Housing Production
The costs of meeting the state’s energy policies are showing up as a stealth tax in the form of higher housing ownership costs and higher rents. A lot of that has to do with town and city policy.
Building Codes Have a Role in Coastal Resilience
Catastrophic flooding. Extreme heat. Flash droughts. Our safest refuge should be our homes – our sanctuaries from the proverbial and literal storms. But the reality is, many of our homes are not safe. Not by a long shot.
Builders Predict More Pain for Housing Production
Homebuilders say the latest energy efficiency standards being adopted in many Massachusetts communities will wipe out recent progress the state has made toward spurring housing production.
A Modest Proposal for a Truce on Real Estate’s Carbon Emissions
Why not let posh suburbs like Wellesley and Lincoln pass all the green mandates and regulations they can dream up? But there’d be a catch: Get serious about helping Greater Boston fix its housing affordability crisis.
Developers Lean into High-Efficiency Designs
As more Greater Boston communities adopt the state’s new opt-in energy code with its higher sustainability standards, developers are testing the limits of how far commercial buildings can effectively run without fossil fuel sources.
Admin Extends Stretch Code Comment Period After Pushback
After two key senators complained that the administration was “depriving the public of a full opportunity to participate,” the Department of Energy Resources is giving people about 10 additional days to weigh in on its straw proposal for state building code changes.
Key Senators Knock Baker’s Stretch Energy Code Plan
As the Department of Energy Resources launches hearings on its straw proposal for a stretch code update and a new municipal opt-in specialized stretch code, two key senators made clear to Commissioner Patrick Woodcock that they expect “substantial revisions” to the proposals before they take effect later this year.
Tech Tempts Developers Toward Sustainability
Battle lines are forming as advocates of tougher voluntary energy codes weigh in on the state’s approach to meeting its carbon emissions-cutting goals.
Clean Energy HVAC Won’t Happen Without Incentives, Report Says
Switching from fossil fuel sources to electric heating systems in commercial buildings will remain rare in Massachusetts without more financial incentives and government mandates such as building code and zoning requirements, a Boston-based business group says.
