Energy/ Environment

Baker seeking major changes in building code

Municipalities could adopt rooftop solar, full electrification requirements

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THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION is preparing to unveil proposed revisions to the state building code that would ratchet up energy conservation across the state and allow individual communities to opt-in to a “specialized stretch code” that would require new construction to be much more energy self-sufficient.

The specialized stretch code, according to sources briefed on the plan, would require all new construction to include rooftop solar panels, to meet at least some “passive house” standards, and to be capable of using electricity for all heating needs.

Administration officials did not respond to requests for comment, but the Department of Energy Resources notified stakeholders it was releasing on Tuesday a “straw proposal” containing updates to the existing stretch code and a framework for an “opt-in specialized stretch code.”

Sources said the revisions to the state building code would deal primarily with windows, insulation, and other measures to reduce energy usage. The opt-in specialized stretch code would allow communities to voluntarily take additional measures that would accelerate energy conservation, including requiring all new construction to include rooftop solar where practicable.

The stretch code would also require new construction to be equipped for full electrification and to meet at least some passive house standards, the goal of which is to dramatically limit energy usage.

According to sources, the proposed specialized stretch code would not ban fossil fuel infrastructure in new construction, but it would make the infrastructure largely redundant and expensive because the new construction must be equipped for full electrification.

A bylaw passed by Brookline in 2019 barred all new fossil fuel infrastructure, but it was shot down as illegal by Attorney General Maura Healey who ruled that municipalities do not have the authority to supersede state building and gas codes.

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About Bruce Mohl

Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.

About Bruce Mohl

Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.

Several communities, including Brookline, Arlington, Lexington, Concord, and Acton, have been pressing the state for permission to ban fossil fuel infrastructure in new construction and major retrofits, so far without success.

The new building code proposals are part of a broader state effort to reduce carbon emissions with the goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050.

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