Cloudy Skies for Solar Incentives in the Bay State

Reader Contribution by Ryan Willemsen

Massachusetts’ new SMART program will lower incentives for new rooftop solar installations.

The Bay State has had its share of successes in the solar sector. First, a goal of 250 megawatts (MW) of solar was met in 2012, four years early. Now, Massachusetts has surpassed its most ambitious goal for solar energy three years ahead of schedule. The state reached 1,600 MW of installed solar energy capacity, enough to power over 260,000 homes. This achievement marks the success of initiatives lead by former Governor Deval Patrick, and continued by Governor Charlie Baker. Upon taking office in 2007, the former governor outlined a series of challenging goals for the state that at the time had only 3 MW of solar, not even enough to power a small town. The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) has finalized plans for the next generation of solar goals and incentives. Highlights have been the announcement of the eventual elimination of the Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC), and the unveiling of the next-generation comprehensive program, the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART). While the past decade has seen a focus on providing optimal incentives for homeowners who go solar, it’s becoming clear that the next era of solar in Massachusetts will provide more benefits to large-scale utilities.

The successes of the past decade have been attributed to rebates, utility requirements and especially the generous SREC program. Net metering has paid solar homeowners thousands of dollars for excess electricity production that has supplied the grid with clean energy. The SREC program allows homeowners to sell commodities generated from their clean energy production to utilities looking to meet renewable energy standards. The value of these credits fluctuates based on market conditions. It has been a win for homeowners, with credits earning well over $1,000 per year for the typical solar residence.

Utility-scale solar has flourished, launching the state to 7th in the nation for total solar capacity. Roughly 15,000 jobs have been created in Massachusetts. Talk of doing away with SREC has put both the solar industry and prospective homeowners on edge. The consensus is that if DOER is doing away with popular incentives, they better replace them with something at least as generous if solar growth is to continue. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that happened.

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