Blog

Energy & Climate Counsel

Your one-stop resource for timely analysis of legal and policy developments affecting the energy and climate sectors. We focus on the issues that matter most to you, from federal and state policy and judicial decisions to business trends and financing news.

SJC's Sunpin Decision: A Win for Solar Development, But Not the Last Word
Blog July 17, 2026
On July 14, 2026, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) issued its decision in Sunpin Energy Services, LLC v. Zoning Board of Appeals of Petersham, holding in favor of solar development and reaffirming that local zoning boards have only narrow authority to deny solar special permits…
Massachusetts Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (CPACE): A New Era on the Horizon?
Blog April 09, 2026
Nearly a decade ago, Massachusetts joined many other states in authorizing a Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (CPACE) program called PACE Massachusetts to support energy efficiency and renewable energy investments in commercial real estate…
Navigating the Challenges of Data Center Growth —Part III: Evolving Federal, State, and Local Policy
Blog March 20, 2026
Much of the emerging federal, state and local data center policy focuses on the industry’s impacts on energy affordability…
Massachusetts AGO Rejects Yet Another Municipal Solar and Battery Storage Moratorium
Blog March 13, 2026
On March 11, 2026, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (“AGO”) disapproved a proposed temporary zoning moratorium on large-scale solar installations and battery energy storage systems (“BESS”) in the Town of Blandford…
Massachusetts Finalizes Clean Energy Siting and Permitting Rules
Blog March 11, 2026
After more than a year of hard work by regulators and stakeholders, Massachusetts has finalized the bulk of the regulations needed to implement the siting and permitting reforms enacted in the 2024 Climate Act…
How MassDEP’s Proposed Noise Policy Update Could Affect Renewable Energy Developers
Blog March 04, 2026
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) is poised to revise its Noise Policy for the first time since the Policy’s adoption in 1990…
30 Years of New England Electricity Restructuring Roundtable
Blog December 15, 2025
On December 5, 2025, Foley Hoag hosted the 30th Anniversary of the New England Electricity Restructuring Roundtable (“Roundtable”), convening leading regulators, executives, and policy experts in the region’s electric power industry to reflect on three decades of market evolution and to chart its future…
Massachusetts Energy Storage Procurement Underway
Blog September 08, 2025
Massachusetts’s first “Section 83E” procurement for energy storage is underway, with bids due Wednesday, September 10, 2025, at noon…
SMART 3.0 Program Key Changes and Features: Mitigation Fees
Blog July 25, 2025
This post focuses on a key change in the newest iteration of SMART: the introduction of mitigation fees for solar projects that are located on land that has not been previously developed…
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ABOUT

Foley Hoag’s Energy & Climate Counsel blog aims to be your one-stop resource for timely analysis of legal and policy developments affecting the energy and climate sectors. We focus on the issues that matter most to our readers, from federal and state policy and judicial decisions to business trends and financing news.

Our authors, comprised of attorneys from the firm’s Energy & Climate practice, have been active in the energy and climate space for decades, counseling clients across the spectrum – from new, innovative technology companies to large utility-scale power projects. Recognizing early on the common concerns of the renewable and traditional energy fields, we established one of the first integrated practices to serve all segments of the energy and clean technology sectors. We believe this tight integration provides us with the insight to analyze the pressing issues, trends and opportunities that those in this industry have come to expect.