The Massachusetts Solar Campaign

The Massachusetts Solar Campaign

Whenever we think of Massachusetts, there are a few striking notions that come to our mind such as the Red Sox, top notch universities, Matt Damon and even “Wicked Chowda”! But recent times increasingly provoked ideas of solar power as the Solar Legislator Score gives Massachusetts an “Excellent”! This is the result of the success of the Green Communities Act of 2007, through which the residents and corporate of Massachusetts were spurred on to effectively utilize their finance in energy efficient technology and bring down their power consumption through a wide range of solar rebates in Massachusetts. The outstanding quality of the solar programs, tax credits and exemptions has earned the solar rebate program in Massachusetts, a widespread support and recognition amongst its people!

The obvious reason is the fact that the state has more than 2,000 solar power installations, generating 22 Megawatts of electricity. The huge success in implementation of solar power is owed to the Commonwealth Solar Rebate Program. These solar rebates in Massachusetts helped the small homeowners overcome the initial financial burden involved in setting up the Photo Voltaic (PV) system for their houses. This program started in 2007 with a budget of $ 68 million and a goal of 27MW by 2010, has been tremendously successful with numerous residents signing up for the program to go solar. They now aim even higher with the state renewable portfolio standard which seeks to achieve 400MW by 2020.

With such a daunting task of achieving 400MW by 2020, the only possible solution lay in the invention of a funding mechanism called “State Renewable Energy Credit” or SREC. The system requires homeowners and utility companies to hit certain targets every year. For every SREC that they fail to achieve, the utility companies will have to pay $ 600 to Boston. Alternatively, if homeowners are able to achieve more than their required target, these utility companies can buy the extra SREC from them at a set price of $ 285 per SREC. This motivates them to buy it from homeowners rather than pay $ 600. Due to high demand, these SRECs are now traded in the open market at $ 520 as on February 2011. These SRECs are guaranteed payments to homeowners for at least 10 years and this is the basis on which the State aims to achieve 400 MW by 2020.

The Database of State Incentive for Renewables and Efficiency (DSIRE) has numerous incentives for homeowners that encourage them to invest in solar power. These include:

- Personal Tax Credit – The state offers a 15% tax credit off the home solar system, with a maximum limit of $ 1000.

- Property And Sales Tax Exemption – The solar panels will depreciate to almost nothing within 20 years and thereby these solar panels will not increase the property taxes and additionally there is no tax on the solar panel system itself.

- The State Rebate Program – The Solar Rebate Program in Massachusetts is a state wide program and provides rebate based on income, home value, whether or not solar panels were manufactured in Massachusetts etc., with a maximum possible rebate of $ 20,000. The basic rebate applicable to all is set at $ 750/kW regardless of any factor and also 30% Federal Tax Credit irrespective of income or home size.

With the importance of “Green Energy” rising, the solar rebates massachusetts are key incentives that encourage people to invest in environmentally friendly sources of energy in order to protect the world for our future generation!

 

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solar rebates massachusetts