Overview
The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) is an independent governmental entity within, but not under the supervision of, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. It was established by Chapter 23J of the Massachusetts General Laws and began operations in 2009. MassCEC is governed by a 12-member board of directors. Seven of the board members are ex officio; the rest are from the private and public sectors and are appointed by the Governor. The board has three committees: the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee, and the Investments Committee. By statute, the board is chaired by the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs. The board meets seven times each year to vote on programmatic and fiscal decisions and is governed by bylaws that are reviewed and updated as needed. During our audit period, MassCEC had 60 employees in its six departments: Corporate, Innovation and Industry Support, Investments, Offshore Wind, Renewable Energy Generation, and the Wind Technology Testing Center (WTTC). MassCEC’s main office is at 63 Franklin Street and WTTC is at 80 Terminal Street in Boston.
According to its website,
MassCEC’s mission is to grow the state’s clean energy economy while helping to meet the Commonwealth’s clean energy, climate and economic development goals. . . .
MassCEC funds more than 40 programs including incentives for clean energy technology installations, financing for early stage companies and technology development as well as investments in training programs to build a clean energy workforce. . . .
MassCEC fosters collaboration among the industry, state government, research universities and the financial sector to advance the state’s clean energy economy.
In November 2009, An Act Relative to Clean Energy transferred the state’s Renewable Energy Trust Fund (RETF) from the Massachusetts Technology Park Corporation to MassCEC. The RETF is funded by a renewable-energy surcharge of $0.0005 per kilowatt-hour paid by ratepayers of public and participating municipal electric utilities in Massachusetts. Proceeds from the surcharge totaled $22,784,856 in 2016 and $22,649,352 in 2017, representing approximately $0.29 per month paid by each residential customer. MassCEC uses the proceeds from the RETF to fund its operations.
| Date published: | June 11, 2018 |
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