The Sun is Shining on the Future of Solar in Massachusetts

With the 400 megawatt (MW) Solar Carve-Out cap already reached, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) has held multiple stakeholder meetings throughout the past six months to discuss the best way to maintain steady growth in the solar market. For a recap of what those meetings covered, see our last post on the issue. On Monday, August 12, the DOER held their latest meeting to present their proposed design for the continuation of the Solar Carve-Out Program in MA.

Key design features include:

• Creation of a new, separate SREC market (SREC-II) with new compliance obligations on retail electricity suppliers
• Solar Carve-Out Program cap set at 1,200 MW by 2020
• Initiation of the SREC Factor, which will decrease financial incentives for solar projects over time as well as differentiate financial incentives between market sectors
• Formation of a separate but similar Solar Credit Clearinghouse Auction, which will provide a price support mechanism
• All projects will have a fixed 10-year opt-in term

More specific information on the proposed program can be found in the full presentation (PDF) on DOER’s website.

DOER has not finalized any decisions and will accept public comments on the updated proposed design through August 26th. Comments should be sent electronically to DOER.SREC@state.ma.us with the subject line reading “Comments: SREC-II Updated Proposed Design.”

Have questions on how solar can be a viable option? Contact Alan Benevides.