Massachusetts lawmakers approved legislation on July 31 to strengthen the state’s renewable portfolio standard by requiring a 2 percent boost in procurement of the supplies each year from 2020 to 2029, up from the current 1 percent annual increase. The current goal requires 15 percent by 2020, followed by a one percent increase each year. The bill would also create an energy storage target of 1,000 megawatt-hours by 2025, up from the current goal of 200 megawatt-hours by 2020. The bill requires an analysis to determine whether the state should procure an additional 1.6 gigawatts of offshore wind. The measure includes a “clean peak standard” requiring retail electricity suppliers to annually increase their kilowatt-hour sales from clean energy resources during seasonal peak demand hours, when the highest polluting, most expensive generation is dispatched. (H 4857)