New Clean Energy Data Tool for Massachusetts Supports Municipal Decision-Making with Easy-to-Use Interactive Map

By Laura Hurley

There’s no shortage of data in today’s world. Some of it can be transformative. For energy equity and justice, data can lead to policy interventions and new investment in communities that have not benefited from solar subsidies or lack public electric vehicle chargers, as two examples. But this data is often not easily accessible to the people who need it, and making sense of it can require sophisticated analysis. The Clean Energy and Environment Legacy Transition (CELT) Initiative takes aim at this problem by providing critical data insights for the planning and implementation of energy projects in Massachusetts.

As CELT marks its first year, the initiative is rolling out new updates to the CELT Energy Transition Atlas, a user-friendly interactive mapping tool offering data and information to support municipal decision-making and track progress on renewable energy and sustainability. A second online tool for state agencies, cities, and towns, called the Massachusetts Energy Explorer, is in the works for early next year. It will offer visualizations, stories, and case studies, track trends in how clean energy projects are progressing, identify best practices and challenges, and contribute to the equitable allocation of resources.

Boston University developed both resources as part of the three-year CELT initiative launched in fall 2024. Backed by $5.7 million from the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, the initiative is hosted at the Rist Institute for Sustainability and Energy at the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML) and the Institute for Global Sustainability (IGS) at Boston University (BU). CELT’s goal is to advance an equitable energy transition in the state by making data readily available for decision-making, supporting communities, and collaborating in the development of a geothermal roadmap for the state.

Key Features of the Atlas

Using the Atlas, community leaders, advocates, and decision-makers can easily view data related to energy infrastructure, energy costs, electric vehicles, emissions, population demographics, and more—all in one place. Thanks to its intuitive design, Atlas users can easily navigate and visualize a wealth of data. With the most recent updates, municipalities across the state can now:

• Identify areas disproportionately burdened by high energy costs and potentially in need of intervention
• View the locations of clean energy projects and electric vehicle infrastructure
• Track the placement of buildings larger than 20,000 square feet, which are likely to demand more energy
• Understand how much progress other municipalities have made toward their clean energy goals
• Review relevant information about state clean energy programs and grants (for example, the Green Communities Designation & Grant program, Climate Leader Communities program, and the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness program)
• Get information on MBTA communities and the adoption of energy codes and as-of-right siting measures
• Access links to a separate tool developed by BU colleagues to guide equitable implementation of networked geothermal in MA
• Combined data layers as requested by state agencies, highlighting different energy indicators relative to environmental justice communities
• Use the data for countless other clean energy-related activities

To help municipalities make the most of the Atlas, a companion video walks through its key features and shows where to find different types of data, and a separate document addresses common questions.

Boston University Leads Data Analysis

At Boston University, IGS leads data analysis for CELT, collecting, curating, and visualizing data that helps municipalities and state agencies in the planning and implementation of their clean energy transition projects.

“For the first time, we have compiled, cleaned, and centralized key data from a variety of sources to build the Atlas, specifically so local leaders in Massachusetts can use it to understand and improve clean energy access in their communities,” said Emily Ryan, an associate professor in the College of Engineering and IGS associate director who is heading up the BU team. “Before this project, that information was often trapped behind a paywall or otherwise inaccessible to those who could use it.”

“For the first time, we have compiled, cleaned, and centralized key data from a variety of sources to build the Atlas, specifically so local leaders in Massachusetts can use it to understand and improve clean energy access in their communities.”

— Emily Ryan

CELT also reflects BU’s focus on convergent research across the university’s schools and colleges—bringing together experts in environmental science and health, energy and climate policy, engineering, and computing and data science to solve interdisciplinary challenges. In addition to Ryan, the BU faculty teaming up for CELT include two other IGS associate directors, Cutler Cleveland, a professor of earth and environment in the College of Arts & Sciences, and Patricia Fabian, an associate professor of environmental health in the School of Public Health (SPH), as well as Jonathan Buonocore, an assistant professor of environmental health in SPH. They are supported by BU postdoctoral scholars, research analysts, GIS professionals, and students from multiple disciplines.

“Potential uses of the Atlas are limitless,” Cleveland added. “The current iteration is only the beginning of our work applying data to support just clean energy transitions across the state. Our team will continue meeting with municipal leaders, energy project managers, and other users to understand their needs and goals, and we will expand offerings based on this feedback.”

Strong Momentum for CELT

CELT has made significant progress in its first year. In addition to creating two innovative data tools, the partnership has provided another layer of support to the clean energy transition. The UMass Lowell Rist Institute has introduced two CELT fellowship opportunities that place undergraduate and graduate students with state agencies and municipalities to help with sustainable energy projects, including data analysis, grant writing, research, policy, and community outreach. So far, 14 students from UMass Boston, UMass Lowell, UMass Amherst, Northeastern University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Framingham State University, and Boston University have participated, with the second cohort of fellows starting in early 2026. Through fellowships with the state’s Office of Energy Transformation and municipalities and regional agencies, the students have served 27 municipalities and counting.

As part of its state-wide engagement efforts, CELT has also met with state agencies, municipalities, Regional Planning Associations, and stakeholders to shape and implement its data outputs, fellowship programs, and other resources. Many of these clean energy and climate partners will gather at the second annual Green Communities + Leading By Example Summit, hosted by the state’s Green Communities Division, where CELT will lead the data-focused discussions.

Additionally, CELT is working toward developing a strategic roadmap for geothermal energy in Massachusetts in partnership with HEET, the geothermal innovation hub. This effort aims to evaluate the state’s geothermal resources, objectives, and challenges related to technologies, power, and infrastructure, and to provide policy recommendations.