Massachusetts 2035 · 07 / 10

Energy

You will have affordable, clean power you can count on

The moonshot

Be the Leader in Fusion

We will be the leader in fusion: invent it here, build the machines here, train the people here, and bring commercial fusion power to our grid. Back Commonwealth Fusion Systems, compete for future plants, and build the supply chain that makes Massachusetts the home of the fusion economy.

The opportunity

A picture of 2035

A student who first visited an energy company at 15 becomes a technician at 18. Years later, she helps commission a clean-power plant in the Commonwealth. Local factories grow because power is reliable and competitively priced.

What we can build on

Commonwealth Fusion Systems is building SPARC in Devens to demonstrate net fusion energy. Its first planned commercial ARC plant is in Virginia. Massachusetts has a powerful research and manufacturing base from which to compete for future projects and suppliers. 8, 9

The gap to close

A fusion experiment is not a commercial power plant, and commercial power is not automatically cheap. The state needs lower bills and dependable capacity before any one breakthrough arrives. Transmission, interconnection, winter supply, and project economics all matter.

The work starts here.

Top three key initiatives

Bring the next commercial fusion opportunity home

Offer Commonwealth Fusion Systems and other qualified developers a serious package of site options, workforce support, grid studies, and predictable reviews. Assess Devens and suitable former industrial or power sites on their merits, with host communities involved early.

Compete for a future Massachusetts commercial project and the supply chain around it. Tie incentives to agreed milestones and local benefits. Do not describe a company's Virginia project as already coming here or treat scientific net energy as electricity delivered to customers.

Make room for a portfolio of firm clean power

Advance deep-geothermal demonstrations and assess advanced nuclear options alongside fusion. Review state siting barriers and propose changes where justified, while retaining applicable federal licensing, environmental review, and meaningful public participation.

Invite Quaise and other developers to compete for demonstrations at suitable sites. Evaluate safety, waste, water, construction risk, and full delivered cost for each technology. One accountable state process should coordinate decisions and make schedules visible.

Build a New England power agreement and a stronger grid

Seek joint procurement with willing New England states for dependable clean capacity. Coordinate transmission and interconnection work with the relevant grid institutions. Share costs according to benefits and enforceable contracts, rather than assuming a regional agreement already exists.

Add storage, grid modernization, demand flexibility, and resilient local systems while new generation develops. Use AI-assisted controls where they demonstrably improve operation. Keep a published winter-reliability plan so the fusion bet strengthens an energy strategy that works under multiple timelines.

The supporting work

Demonstrate superhot geothermal

Evaluate a Massachusetts well with qualified developers and independent technical review. Reusing a former power site could lower costs, but drilling performance and site suitability must be established before committing to generation.

Reduce winter price shocks

Procure storage and flexibility where they lower full system costs. Assess firm fuel and capacity needs during the transition. Publish the tradeoffs, contractual exposure, and exit conditions for any bridge supply.

Fix the interconnection queue

Coordinate utility studies, site planning, and grid upgrades. Identify locations with usable capacity and make connection timelines visible. Building a plant or a factory should not mean discovering the grid constraints last.

Make large new loads pay their share

Design tariffs and procurement rules so major data centers and other new loads cover the infrastructure and capacity they cause. Seek anchor customers for new clean generation without shifting speculative project risk onto households.

Train the people who build and operate the system

Connect CFS, other developers, unions, schools, UMass Lowell, and community colleges through workforce agreements. Offer age-appropriate workplace exposure, paid apprenticeships, and adult retraining in fabrication, controls, electrical work, and operations.

The path to 2035

Proposed milestones. Expand against evidence, delivery, and public value.

2027
Put the offer and the grid plan on the table
Publish candidate-site studies and a proposal for future fusion investment. Establish coordinated reviews, an energy workforce compact, and a winter-capacity plan. Start geothermal and advanced-nuclear assessments where there is a willing host.
2029
Advance the projects that prove themselves
Use SPARC's actual results and other developers' evidence to update commercial plans. Seek regional procurement commitments, expand economical storage, and publish interconnection improvements and household-bill effects.
2031
Turn readiness into construction
Aim to have a qualified commercial clean-power project under construction in Massachusetts, subject to technology, permits, financing, and contracts. Expand fusion components and manufacturing even while commercial generation is being developed.
2035
Lead the fusion economy
Pursue commercial fusion power in Massachusetts and a globally competitive supplier base. Aim for lower household energy burdens and stronger reliability through a diversified system. Report electricity delivered and full customer cost, not just scientific milestones.

Questions & answers

What happens if fusion takes longer?

The plan still builds grid capacity, storage, efficient demand, other firm-clean options, and an industrial workforce. Stage fusion commitments against evidence. Keep the research ambition large while making near-term reliability independent of a single company's schedule.

Does removing a permitting barrier remove safety review?

No. Propose changes through the appropriate legal process and retain all applicable licensing. Evaluate each reactor or geothermal design on its actual characteristics. Labels such as advanced or small do not substitute for project-specific safety and cost evidence.

Will ratepayers fund a speculative experiment?

Disclose equity, public grants, guarantees, power contracts, and decommissioning obligations. Cap public exposure at each stage. Private capital and regional procurement can help, but neither eliminates risk. Judge success by reliable power at a defensible delivered price.

Show the results.

The public scorecard

These are the measures we would publish to judge progress.

Household energy burden
Delivered electricity cost
Outage duration
Firm capacity
Interconnection time
Massachusetts manufacturing jobs
Public financial exposure

Sources & context

Reference notes dated September 16, 2026. Plans and proposals are distinguished from existing activity.

[8] Commonwealth Fusion Systems: SPARC
SPARC is the Devens demonstration program for net fusion energy and technology development for a later commercial power plant.
[9] Commonwealth Fusion Systems: ARC
CFS identifies Virginia as the location of its first planned commercial ARC plant. A future Massachusetts commercial plant is a proposal in this vision.