The Energy Transition Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is one group working to change that.
“We like to look for progressive ways that we can actually help the lower-income people, (and) renters, be a part of the energy transition, where they can actually make money, or, save money,” said Erin Baker, faculty director of the institute.
In December, the institute was awarded close to $1.2 million from the state. The goal is to shape equitable and sustainable energy systems in Western Massachusetts and beyond.
Students and faculty with backgrounds in the physical and social sciences are working in Holyoke to design an energy system that better serves the needs of low- and moderate-income households. More than a quarter of Holyoke residents live in poverty, according to census data.
The Holyoke project could be used as a model by other low- or moderate-income communities across the state, Baker said.
A secondary project through the grant looks at how to “elevate equity” in the energy transition. That means moving away from fossil fuels to solar, onshore and offshore wind and battery storage.
Baker said she finds Holyoke’s energy picture interesting. “It has a lot of hydropower, so it’s actually pretty clean.”
State House News Service/TNS
“In some ways … the community can interact with their utility in a more active way than you do if you’re under an investor-owned (utility),” said Baker, an engineering professor at UMass Amherst. “But they’re also very focused on supporting the people of Holyoke.”
This project was a long time coming. The institute has been working in the community for about seven years, building trust with residents.
The institute is fostering the next generation of people ready to tackle projects like this, said Zoe Getman-Pickering, the program coordinator of ELEVATE, the group’s energy equity program.
“(We’re) training the next generation of change-makers,” she said.
WHAT HAS GOV. HEALEY SAID ABOUT ENERGY IN MASS.?
The institute will also help the state achieve some of its energy and climate change goals.
In her recent State of the Commonwealth address, Gov. Maura Healey promised to reduce electricity bills by 25 percent and gas bills by 10 percent for every customer of the state’s utility companies as early as February or March of this year.
“I called on the utilities to lower bills this winter, and now relief is on the way,” Healey said in a statement last month. “We also know that long-term help is needed. That’s why we’re going to keep working every day to bring more energy into our state, oppose rate hikes and get charges off of bills.”
With a median monthly bill of $481, the Bay State is one of the most expensive states in the nation for utility costs, Newsweek reported, citing data compiled by third-party bill payment service doxo.
That’s well above the national median of $347 a month, according to that analysis.
Mike Kennealy, a GOP gubernatorial candidate running against Healey this year, has been critical of Healey’s goals for clean energy, calling energy costs “unacceptable.” He claims energy prices could rise as much as 126 percent by 2050 under her policies.
“Massachusetts must end its 2050 green energy mandate and focus on reality-based solutions, and that must include next-generation nuclear energy and natural gas,” Kennealy said.
Over the last year, Healey has established several climate and energy goals. In May 2025, she signed the Energy Affordability, Independence and Innovation Act, which she said will “save customers money, bring more energy into Massachusetts, increase accountability and drive innovation.”
The law, coupled with the state’s nearly $3 billion, five-year investment into the environment, could help ratepayers save more than $10 billion over the next 10 years, she said.
Healey has also worked on initiatives like a solar incentive program and a partnership with Canada on the New England Clean Energy Connect line — a billion dollar project which delivers hydroelectricity from Canada to New England — that could help reduce prices. Other steps include siting and permitting reforms for energy infrastructure.
Several proposed bills support a vision of Massachusetts that is cleaner and greener. For example, advocates of a climate bank bill being heard in legislative committees say it is a linchpin measure for “the clean energy transition.”
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