Global InformationSolar power in Massachusetts information
Solar power in Massachusetts has been increasing rapidly, due to Section 1603 grants for installations that began before December 31, 2011,[2] and the sale of SRECs for $0.30/kWh,[3] which allows payback for the system within 5 or 6 years, and generates income for the life of the system. For systems installed after December 31, 2011, and before December 31, 2016, the 30% tax grant becomes a 30% tax credit. There has been an appeal to the Congress to extend the 1603 program, the grant program, for an additional year.[4][5]
Net metering is available with no aggregate limit for systems less than 10 kW, or three phase connected systems less than 25 kW. Larger systems are limited to 3% of total peak load.[6] Approximately 40 municipalities are exempt from net metering. Of these, most choose not to offer it.
The first solar park in the country is the 100 kW array installed in 1981 at Beverly High School.[7] The largest campus to have a solar program is Harvard's 555 kW array.[8][9]
Massachusetts' largest privately owned solar array is the 7.1 MW Happy Hollow Community Solar and Storage Farm, completed in March 2019.[10] The town of Harvard, Massachusetts has the most solar installations with 75 planned, of which 21 have been installed.[11] Holyoke is home to two arrays which total 4.5 MW which were completed on December 20, 2011.[12] A 1.8 MW solar farm in Pittsfield was completed in 2010.[citation needed] A 5.75 MW solar park in Canton was completed in 2012.[13][14] Two 6 MW solar parks are being built, one in Berkley, and the other in Carver.[15] As of August 2012, a total of 129 MW has been installed in the state.[16]
State officials had set a target of installing 250 MW of solar PV statewide by 2017 and in May 2013 upped the target to 1,600 MW by 2020 as the 250 MW goal had been met four years ahead of schedule.[17] Exceeding projections again, cumulative solar PV capacity in the state reached over 2 GW (2,000 MW) at the end of 2017.[18] The American Solar Energy Industries Association forecasts that another ~1.5 GW of solar PV will be installed in the state over the next four years (2018-2021).[19]
The U.S. Energy Information Administration meanwhile reports that solar power, including both utility-scale and small-scale projects, accounted for 7.7% of the electricity generated in Massachusetts in 2017 - the 5th highest percentage nationwide among the 50 states.[20][21][22]
Massachusetts has a robust program for solar on closed landfills, with more than 80 projects with over 250 MW of capacity.[23]
- ^ "Solar house". Archived from the original on 2012-07-07. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
- ^ "1603 Treasury Program". Archived from the original on 2012-04-13. Retrieved 2012-04-13.
- ^ "Massachusetts Announces Change to SREC Program - Brightstar Solar". Brightstar Solar. 2011-01-31. Archived from the original on 2016-03-23. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
- ^ Cardwell, Diane (2012). "Clean Energy Projects Face Waning Subsidies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2018-03-21. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
- ^ "Overview and Status Update of the 1603 Program" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2012-04-16. Retrieved 2012-04-13.
- ^ Massachusetts Net Metering Archived 2012-10-30 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Solar-panel grant keeps Beverly High going green Archived 2012-09-09 at archive.today
- ^ "Harvard is Hot on Solar Panels, But Why Aren't Other Boston Universities as Charged Up?". Archived from the original on 2012-07-07. Retrieved 2012-04-13.
- ^ "Sunviewer.net™ Harvard Science Center". www.sunviewer.net. Archived from the original on 2018-03-21. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
- ^ "Worcester Business Journal". March 11, 2019. Archived from the original on November 7, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
- ^ Solararize Harvard Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Holyoke solar power project, among largest in New England, starts up". masslive.com. Archived from the original on 2018-03-20. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
- ^ Old Massachusetts Landfill Will be Home to New England's Largest Solar Array Archived 2012-05-21 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Lazar, Kay (2011-01-31). "Canton dump may soon be a solar powerhouse". Boston.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
- ^ Nichols, Christopher. "Solar power soars to new heights in Berkley". The Taunton Daily Gazette, Taunton, MA. Archived from the original on 2012-07-18. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
- ^ Massachusetts Clean Energy Installations Archived 2012-08-31 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ FOX 6 Springfield (2013-05-02). "Massachusetts Sets New Goal for Solar Power". WGGB-DT2. Archived from the original on 2013-05-06. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Betsy Lillian (2018-02-18). "Massachusetts Reaches Significant Solar Milestone". Solar Industry Mag. Archived from the original on 2018-03-09. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
- ^ "Solar Spotlight - Massachusetts, 2017Q3" (PDF). Solar Energy Industries Association. 2018-01-09. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-03-09. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
- ^ "Electric Power Monthly - Table 1.17.B. Net Generation from Solar Photovoltaic by State, by Sector, Year-to-Date through December 2017 and 2016". U.S. Energy Information Administration. 2018-02-27. Archived from the original on 2018-07-02. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
- ^ "Electric Power Monthly - Table 1.3.B. Utility Scale Facility Net Generation by State, by Sector, Year-to-Date through December 2017 and 2016". U.S. Energy Information Administration. 2018-02-27. Archived from the original on 2023-02-15. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
- ^ "Solar State By State". Solar Energy Industries Association. 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-03-09. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
- ^ "Closed Landfills with Permits for Renewable Energy | Mass.gov". www.mass.gov. Retrieved 2023-07-21.