Waste-to-Energy Grant Program

$54 Million in Waste-to-Energy Grants were awarded to 138 Communities on March 26, 2001.

A portion of the revenues from the Renewable Energy Trust have been earmarked to provide grants to Massachusetts municipalities and other governmental bodies to alleviate direct contractual payment obligations associated with air pollution control retrofits at waste to energy facilities located in the Commonwealth, or the closure of such facilities. The revenues for these grants derive from a $0.00025 per kilowatt-hour surcharge on electricity distributed in service territories open to competition from March 1, 1998 to December 31, 2002, and are currently expected to amount to approximately $54 million. As required by the statute, the surcharge is levied only on ratepayers who reside in areas open to retail competition.

Waste-to-Energy Collaborative

On June 30, 2000, MTC commenced a collaborative process with representatives of municipalities potentially interested in the fund to develop a final waste to energy (WTE) grant allocation formula and mechanism. Over 130 municipalities directly, or through designated representatives, participated in the process which came to be termed the "Massachusetts Waste to Energy Collaborative".