Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey on Sept. 8, 2026, signed Executive Order No. 658, directing state agencies not to issue permits for data-center projects above 25 megawatts of peak electricity demand without Framework conformance and a community benefits agreement aligned with state standards.
Unlike a federal Clean Air Act rule, EO 658 is a state executive order that gates Massachusetts permitting for large data centers. Local approval and a conforming community benefits agreement come before state permits advance, and the order bans non-disclosure agreements between state agencies and data-center projects except where law already allows them.
The same order tells MassDEP to write protocols so covered projects procure enough incremental new clean electricity, qualifying under the state's Clean Energy Standard, to match annual consumption. By Dec. 31, 2026, MassDEP must set an alternative compliance payment for projects that do not; collections go to a Ratepayer Protection Fund meant to offset electricity supply costs for ratepayers.
Healey's office framed the order as community veto power plus ratepayer protection after a June 25 pause on data-center sales-and-use tax exemption applications and the release of the Framework. The Framework, cited in the order, expects developers to fund energy infrastructure and clean supply, protect water and public health, and keep communities in the planning loop.
WBUR reported the same day that projects must secure local approvals and conforming community benefits agreements before state permitting, and that the Ratepayer Protection Fund is the fallback when centers cannot immediately supply their own clean energy. TechTarget's Sept. 11 analysis says the 25 MW peak-demand threshold applies to builds or expansions after Sept. 8 and notes the ACP dollar amount is not set in the order itself.
What remains open is how high MassDEP sets the alternative compliance payment, how the December municipal guidance document shapes local negotiations, and how Department of Public Utilities large-load rate work under related orders interacts with interconnection-queue reforms for projects above 25 MW. Company and developer responses were not independently verified in this pack.