Advocates urge end to Class II subsidies for waste-to-energy plants, warn ratepayers may be subsidizing out-of-state trash

A witness for Green Energy Consumers Alliance told the Joint Committee that Massachusetts’ Alternative Portfolio Standard (APS) has been funding high-emitting waste-to-energy plants and that limiting or eliminating those subsidies would be fairer to ratepayers.

Kerry Katayan testified in favor of H.3553, describing a 2023 snapshot in which 11 of 12 large, non-combined-heat-and-power plants in New England that produced the most CO2 per megawatt-hour were waste-to-energy facilities and that five of those received APS subsidies. She said H.3553 would stop subsidies for incinerators while not abolishing support for pre‑1997 qualifying generators or local recycling programs.

Katayan told the committee that the APS currently pays for some waste-to-energy operations and that in 2023 Massachusetts imported roughly 340,000 tons of trash to be burned in the state — a practice that can shift disposal costs to electric ratepayers through subsidies. Asked whether the APS should be wholly repealed, Katayan said her organization’s position is to repeal the APS entirely and, if needed, shift funds to targeted programs such as MassSave.

The panel asked follow-up questions about programs that benefit ground-source and air-source heat pumps and how to replace APS funding for small but effective measures; Katayan suggested consolidating programs to ease administrative burden on the Department of Energy Resources.

Why it matters: the APS affects which generation types receive state support; changing the program could lower ratepayer subsidies for high-emitting disposal methods and reallocate funds toward efficiency or cleaner technologies.

What’s next: the committee invited written comments and follow-up technical estimates.