Massachusetts, Connecticut Make Green Moves

The state of  Massachusetts has taken several major steps recently to aggressively curtail greenhouse gas emissions, promote renewable fuels, boost the clean technology industry and put some significant money into energy efficiency programs. At nearly the same time, neighboring Connecticut has unveiled a unique new program to assist homeowners in leasing solar systems. According to a statement from Gov. Jodi Rell , the new initiative, called the  Connecticut Solar Lease Program , will rely on a combination of rebates and tax credits, some of which are unavailable directly for consumers, to lower the cost of leasing solar systems. But the more far-reaching recent steps were taken by Massachusetts, whose Gov. Deval Patrick , a Democrat, signed several bills recently that addressed various aspects of greenhouse emissions and energy production. Among the pieces of legislation was a measure that mandates reducing the sta...