Ten communities in Massachusetts went ‘fossil fuel free.’ Then utilities spent $100M on natural gas infrastructure there.
ADVERTISEMENT New from CommonWealth Beacon LEGISLATURE: House lawmakers passed a grab-bag economic development bill on Wednesday, including authorizing hundreds of millions of dollars in borrowing and housing and zoning reforms. Katie Castellani at State House News Service has the rundown of everything lawmakers put on the table for consideration. OPINION: Merging the best of both the House and Senate versions of energy affordability legislation can combat both high prices and the risks posed by climate change, write Erin Baker and Jared Starr from the Energy Transition Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Ten communities in Massachusetts went ‘fossil fuel free.’ Then utilities spent $100M on natural gas infrastructure there. July 9, 2026 By JORDAN WOLMAN Perhaps nowhere in Massachusetts are the tensions associated with moving away from natural gas for heating our homes and buildings more pronounced than in the state’s 10 com...