51st State Perspectives | Massachusetts: A Great Clean Energy Story – DERs and the Next Chapter

Current state of the electricity market in Massachusetts
The market transition from a traditional, centralized grid to a more distributed system
How prepared utilities are for rapid distributed energy resource (DER) growth

Massachusetts has made strides to a modern grid, but can they take it to the next level?

Massachusetts has laid the groundwork for a more modernized electric grid and made significant clean energy strides, increasing economic development, and reducing impacts of GHG emissions. But recent legislative and regulatory decisions may put the brakes on further DER deployment.

DERs are able to participate in the wholesale market, but limited visibility to behind-the-meter DERs make dispatch and capacity-planning challenging. A May 2018 order put AMI installations and other customer-facing investments on hold. While Massachusetts has seen high DER deployment, the state has not pursued DER integration and optimization through proceedings like other states, such as New York and California.

What’s in the Report

As with earlier 51st State Perspectives reports on New York, California, and Illinois, this report discusses the degree to which Massachusetts is transforming its grid to accommodate DERs.
How Massachusetts is a clean energy leader with detailed DER deployment to date.
Explores whether and to what degree regulators and utilities are changing key elements of the utility business model and wires infrastructure to integrate and optimize DERs as part of the distribution system.