Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
A market-based energy credit program introduced by the Department of Energy Resources is intended to make large solar power projects more feasible in Massachusetts.
The new program, known as the “RPS Solar Carve-Out,” requires utilities to buy a specific percentage of their power, in the form of renewable energy credits, from solar energy systems. The “carve-out” – the purchase of solar power is taken out of the overall proportion of alternative energy that utilities are required by law to purchase – takes the place of the Commonwealth Solar rebate program, which exhausted its funding late last year.
State officials say the carve-out program is more sustainable than the rebate program because the money is coming from the utilities rather than from the state. Also, while Commonwealth Solar’s assistance was capped at 500 kilowatts of energy produced, the energy credit program is available to projects four times that size, with a cap of 2 megawatts.
There are concerns, however, about the cost implications of the carve-out program for consumers.
The state’s largest existing solar-power generator on municipal land, in Brockton, produces 425 kilowatts. But plans are under way in Pittsfield for a 1.8-megawatt solar generator on an eight-acre parcel partly owned by the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority. The Western Massachusetts Electric Co., which owns a large portion of the parcel, estimates that the solar array will generate more than $200,000 in property tax revenue per year.
Greenfield, meanwhile, is among a number of cities and towns looking to create solar arrays on capped landfills. Greenfield’s request-for-proposals calls for a system that provides at least 1.8 megawatts of energy. Town officials estimate that the project will account for at least $175,000 a year in tax revenue and savings on electricity costs.
Capped landfills are also expected to host solar arrays in Fairhaven, Norton, Holbrook and other communities.
The new mandated solar energy purchase requirement for power suppliers, however, is expected to force an increase in the overall cost of electricity for consumers, since solar power is currently more expensive. The MMA has been advocating for an exemption that would delay this cost increase for municipalities that have energy contracts with suppliers, but the state is expected to deny this request.
For more information about the carve-out program, call the Department of Energy Resources at (617) 626-7300 or visit www.mass.gov/eoeea.