“ Not only is this a win for meeting our carbon neutrality goals, but it’ s also another example of how we continue to reform our permitting process. Streamlining for clarity and predictability is essential to creating a more energy efficient city.”
34 October 2026
Green
Boston Adopts Small Clean Energy Infrastructure Zoning
Boston – The City of Boston Zoning Commission adopted new zoning for Small Clean Energy Infrastructure to comply with the Massachusetts State Climate Act. The zoning establishes a“ Consolidated Local Permitting process” in line with state law and Boston’ s climate resiliency goals, and is an effort to decarbonize and transition the city’ s energy sources to be fully electric in the coming years. It also introduces regulations on dimensions and use for Battery Energy Storage Systems( BESS).
“ As our communities continue to grow, so does the need to transition to cleaner,
“ As our communities continue to grow, so does the need to transition to cleaner, more sustainable energy sources. This new zoning will help expand our electric capacity, lower costs and ensure that current and future generations can enjoy our beautiful city.” – Mayor Michelle Wu
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100 Unicorn Park Drive, Suite 1, Woburn, MA 01801 781-273-0123 • www. abcma. org more sustainable energy sources. This new zoning will help expand our electric capacity, lower costs and ensure that current and future generations can enjoy our beautiful city,” said Mayor Michelle Wu.“ Boston has set clear goals to reduce carbon emissions by 2030, and we will continue taking big swings to improve quality of life for all our residents.”
“ Not only is this a win for meeting our carbon neutrality goals, but it’ s also another example of how we continue to reform our permitting process,” said Chief of Planning Kairos Shen.“ Streamlining for clarity and predictability is essential to creating a more energy efficient city.”
The state is requiring cities and towns to provide this opt-in consolidated permitting process for this type of infrastructure by Oct. 1, aligning with the energy resilience goals of Boston’ s 2030 Climate Action Plan and the city’ s goal of reducing carbon emissions by 2050. The infrastructure covered includes solar panels, wind energy turbines, battery energy storage and short energy transmission lines.
The zoning supports the city’ s efforts to increase Boston’ s grid capacity to keep costs low and reduce pollution. The Planning Department will now focus on creating design guidelines for this type of infrastructure that will ensure it is consistent with neighborhood context and enhance the safety of public spaces.
In April, Wu announced the release of Boston’ s 2030 Climate Action Plan, a roadmap for how the city will achieve its carbon emissions reduction and climate resilience goals. The targets include reducing community-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 50 % by 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. The plan includes 22 metrics the city will track over the next five years through its Climate Action Plan Implementation Dashboard.
“ Not only is this a win for meeting our carbon neutrality goals, but it’ s also another example of how we continue to reform our permitting process. Streamlining for clarity and predictability is essential to creating a more energy efficient city.”
– Kairos Shen, Chief of Planning www. high-profile. com