State Legislation

Establishes legal and regulatory framework for permitting of CO2 sequestration sites and empowers the Department of Environmental Protection to permit and monitor carbon sequestration sites.

Allows inclusion of “costs or expenses prudently incurred for scientific research and geological assessments of carbon capture and storage” in utilities’ environmental compliance costs which may be recovered from ratepayers.

Requires utilities to offer to purchase renewable energy and includes “electrical energy produced using pipeline-quality synthetic gas produced from waste petroleum coke with carbon capture and sequestration” in definition of “renewable energy."

Authorizes the State Mineral and Energy Board, among other powers, to “enter into operating agreements whereby the state receives a share of revenues from the storage of oil, natural gas, liquid or liquefied hydrocarbons, or carbon dioxide.”

Subsection 4 provides that carbon dioxide that has been “captured and used for a commercial purpose” or “permanently disposed of in geological formations” shall not be counted as emissions for the purpose of the code.

Carbon capture and sequestration is included in the definition of “clean energy research” that may be supported by Massachusetts Alternative and Clean Energy Investment Trust Fund.

This law places “carbon capture, storage, or sequestration” in the definition of “green economy” and provides for actions to promote job training in support of a green economy.

Allows electricity distribution companies to recover cost of CCS technologies through service charges.