Amid uncertainty about how New England will meet rising demand in the coming decades, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) issued an executive order to procure 10 GW of new power and 5 GW of energy storage by 2035.

In the announcement of the order on March 16, the administration claimed the procurement would save customers $10 billion and bashed President Donald Trump’s “costly war and his failed energy policies.”

While the state has set ambitious clean energy targets and invested heavily in its offshore wind supply chain and infrastructure, the Trump administration’s attacks on offshore wind have left the industry in a precarious position with an unclear long-term outlook.

In the days leading up to the order, Revolution Wind announced first power and Vineyard Wind 1 installed the final turbine on its long-delayed project. (See Vineyard Completes Construction, Revolution Starts Generation.) But the next wave of large projects has been sidetracked for the foreseeable future and policymakers have been forced to look elsewhere for sources of power to meet growing demand.

Possibilities for this next wave of supply could include onshore wind in northern Maine, offshore wind in Nova Scotia, and advanced nuclear. While pipeline constraints limit the region’s ability to add large amounts of gas-fired generation, gas plants could look to add dual-fuel capabilities enabling them to burn oil in the winter when pipelines are constrained.

“I believe in an all-of-the-above approach to energy — that means solar, wind, gas, nuclear and hydro,” Healey said in a statement. “While the president is taking American-built energy sources off the table, in Massachusetts, we are saying yes to more supply from more sources of energy.”

The executive order stipulates that 4 GW of the procurement should be solar power and 3.5 GW should be demand management. The final 2.5 GW could include New England-based generation and imports to the region.

The executive action includes a list of high-level directives to state agencies aimed at promoting clean energy technologies including solar, wind, geothermal, nuclear and demand response.

It explicitly references the expiring Inflation Reduction Act tax credits for wind and solar and the need to move quickly to meet the deadlines. Projects must begin construction by July 4, 2026, or come online by the end of 2027 to receive the federal incentives.

The order also directs the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) to review the state’s natural gas and oil storage and delivery capabilities, and “identify whether additional, strategically located storage capacity or delivery capabilities could provide reliability and affordability benefits to all ratepayers and align with existing regulations.”

However, it does not call for the expansion of fossil fuel systems — such as pipeline infrastructure — into the state.

The wide-ranging order:

• • Directs the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs to “review and expedite” existing initiatives to promote the development of renewables and storage; address barriers to interconnection; and expedite regulatory proceedings affecting solar development.
  • Directs the Department of Energy Resources to conduct a review of existing demand management programs.
  • Promotes efforts to develop next-generation nuclear resources and directs the EEA to accelerate efforts to support existing nuclear resources:
  • Directs the EEA to “accelerate deployment of geothermal and other non-fossil thermal energy systems” by reducing administrative and regulatory barriers, increasing worker training and collaborating with companies and unions to address supply chain constraints.
  • Requires utilities to submit plans to manage increased interconnection requests as developers push projects to meet federal tax credits deadlines.
  • Directs utilities to establish flexible interconnection programs.
  • Directs the DPU to “expedite the review of proposals that can unlock the benefits of time-of-use electricity rates, distributed energy resources, energy efficiency, and virtual power plants.”

Reactions

While right wing groups in the state have frequently derided the Healey administration for favoritism toward renewable resources, the administration has tended to emphasize stakeholder consensus when developing energy policy. The announcement of the order included testimonials from a range of business, clean energy, labor and environmental organizations.

“Action like this is exactly what the Commonwealth needs to ensure we remain a place where everyone can afford to live,” said Brooke Thomson, CEO of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts.

“Setting clear targets to bring 10 gigawatts of new energy online, along with major new investments in storage, will help strengthen reliability and ensure the region has the power it needs to meet growing demand,” said Valessa Souter-Kline of Advanced Energy United.

“Massachusetts needs more reliable energy and more union jobs — and we need them quickly,” said Chrissy Lynch, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. “Working families shouldn’t have to purchase energy from billionaire oil tycoons and foreign governments.”

“We applaud Gov. Healey’s focus on lowering energy costs and her long-held principle that customers shouldn’t be forced to subsidize costly and polluting fossil fuel infrastructure,” said Caitlin Peale Sloan of the Conservation Law Foundation.