Hartford, CT—The 2026 Connecticut Legislative Session ended on Wednesday night, delivering incremental progress on key priorities advanced by our climate coalition. Here is what happened on three essential policy topics that will mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and protect residents from the adverse health impacts that are already impacting our state.
Affordable Energy
In the months leading up to session, Connecticut’s award-winning energy efficiency programs came under fire with proposals to destabilize their funding through the Public Benefits Charge. While several bills were introduced early in the session, and as amendments to bills late in the session, we are happy to celebrate that thanks to widespread acknowledgement of the benefits energy efficiency brings for affordability and public health, we have successfully protected these programs for another session!
Accelerate Clean Energy Deployment
This session, a bill to keep our state’s successful solar programs running beyond next year’s expiration date was passed. HB 5340 sets up successor programs for Connecticut’s residential, commercial, and shared solar programs, legalizes plug-in solar, streamlines residential solar permitting, and calls for a study on the potential for solar agrivoltaics to expand clean renewable power in harmony with existing agricultural uses. However, the bill also includes provisions limiting solar access by creating a budgetary and megawatt cap on residential solar and establishing a one-year moratorium on utility scale solar in certain communities. Thank you to those who worked on moving this important legislation forward to ensure our state’s successful solar programs are able to continue providing Connecticut residents with access to clean energy, better air quality, and the option for energy independence.
Continuation of our solar programs is a big and important step forward, but this session leaves more work to be done. The Coalition will continue advocating for increased solar access and fighting against barriers to deployment in the months to come.
Act Now to Protect Communities
Thanks to the passage of HB 5514, the state will establish centralized extreme weather protocols, which are essential to protect public health as climate change brings more frequent extreme heat and unstable weather to our state. Thank you to those who worked on this important legislation for protecting the most vulnerable residents of Connecticut by ensuring safety and resilience to extreme weather.
About the Connecticut Coalition for Climate Action
The Connecticut Coalition for Climate Action is a statewide alliance of environmental, labor, faith, health, and community organizations representing more than 300,000 people, working together to advance equitable climate solutions that reduce pollution, lower energy costs, and build a just and resilient clean energy economy.
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