Section 99 Chapter 8 is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:

SECTION XX. The department of public utilities may, upon application of a gas company as defined in section 1 of chapter 164 of the General Laws, authorize pilot projects for the development of utility-scale renewable natural gas and/or renewable hydrogen.   Such application shall be filed with the department on or before January 1, 2025. The department may, under a pilot, approve recovery of costs for projects situated in the commonwealth that demonstrate the technical and economic potential of renewable natural gas and/or renewable hydrogen sources, systems or technologies capable of substituting for fossil-based natural gas; provided, however, that such substitute renewable natural gas and/or renewable hydrogen sources, systems or technologies, and such replacements or alternative uses, have a reasonable likelihood of facilitating substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that satisfy the mandates of greenhouse gas reductions set forth in chapter 21N of the General Laws.  The department shall ensure transparency and validity of the outcomes of the pilot projects through a third-party evaluation and report by the department of energy resources.  In determining whether to approve a pilot project, the department shall consider the reasonableness of the size, scope and scale of the pilot project and related budget and the likelihood of the pilot to demonstrate technical and economic benefits, including the social value of greenhouse gas emissions reductions.  The department may promulgate rules or regulations to implement this section.

For purposes of this section, the following terms are defined as follows:

“Renewable natural gas” is defined as pipeline quality gas derived from any combination of biogas, biomass, the methanation of hydrogen and waste carbon dioxide, or the thermal gasification of sustainable feedstocks, where the use of the fuel results in lower lifecycle CO2-equivalent (“CO2-e”) emissions than geologic natural gas.  CO2-e is defined as the number of metric tons of CO2 emissions with the same global warming potential as one metric ton of another greenhouse gas.

“Renewable hydrogen” is defined as hydrogen produced with electricity generated from renewable energy systems or from conventional sources where any associated emissions are curtailed or offset by carbon management.  Renewable energy systems include those that generate electric or thermal energy through the use of solar thermal, photovoltaics, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal electric, geothermal ground source heat, biogas produced by the anaerobic digestion or fermentation of biodegradable materials, tidal energy, wave energy, ocean thermal and fuel cells that do not utilize a fossil fuel resource.