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Lawmakers pressed to close biomass loophole, citing air‑quality and public‑health risks in Springfield
Summary
Sen. Adam Gomez and municipal and public‑health witnesses told the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy that woody biomass should be removed from clean‑energy incentives and from municipal greenhouse‑gas accounting to avoid subsidizing polluting facilities and to protect air quality in environmental‑justice communities.
State and local officials, public‑health experts and environmental groups urged the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy to remove woody biomass from Massachusetts' clean‑energy incentives and municipal greenhouse‑gas accounting, saying the fuel produces harmful particulate emissions and can be used to finance polluting facilities.
"This is not an abstract policy issue. This is about air our children breathe," Sen. Adam Gomez told the committee while urging passage of S.2288 and companion bills. Gomez said the 2021 climate roadmap law created a municipal lighting plant greenhouse‑gas standard but, he said, a loophole currently allows woody biomass to be treated as a non‑carbon emitting source unless the Legislature acts before Jan. 1, 2026.
Local officials described long fights with developers over a proposed Palmer Renewable Energy biomass facility in East Springfield. Michael Fenton, president of the Springfield City Council,…
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