The town of Lexington, Massachusetts, recently became the latest community in the Bay State to ban all fossil fuels and natural gas. According to the town’s website, this ban officially went into effect on March 21, 2024. In addition to Lexington, ten other communities have implemented similar bans, including Acton, Aquinnah, Arlington, Brookline, Cambridge, Concord, Lincoln, Newton, and West Tisbury.
Although the ban has been in effect for over a year, officials are reminding residents not to discard their propane grills just yet, as there are some exemptions to this fossil fuel ban. I’m pleased with this clarification since I still use a butane stove and a flat-top griddle for cooking while camping during the summer months.
What exemptions exist for the ban on fossil fuels?
This ban mainly affects those who use natural gas inside their homes for hot water and home heating. Now we’re not saying you have to immediately switch to another option and risk getting in trouble, all because you still use natural gas in your home. Not to mention that would put the gas companies out of business if that were the case. Below is a list of all the exemptions to this ban:
- Research laboratories for scientific or medical research
- Hospitals and medical offices
- Piping is required to fuel backup generators, indoor or outdoor cooking appliances, indoor or outdoor fire or fire features, or appliances for outdoor heating. Starting January 1, 2025, indoor cooking appliances and indoor fire features will likely be prohibited.
- Multi-family buildings over 12,000 square feet that utilize gas or propane for domestic water heating as the only combustion equipment (permit application must be filed prior to January 1, 2027, for this exemption)
- Buildings heated with clean biomass heating systems as the only combustion equipment
- Utility service piping connecting the grid to a meter or to a gas meter itself
- The extension or modification of heating systems or the modification of radiator, steam, or hot water piping (as long as no new fossil fuel piping is installed)
- Repairs of any existing portions of a fuel piping system deemed unsafe by the Plumbing and Gas Inspector
What about grilling?…