Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
On Jan. 31, the Department of Energy Resources presented its new solar incentive program design to stakeholders.
The Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) program will be a successor to the Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC) II program.
The department released a draft proposal in September and has engaged in a stakeholder process over the past few months to discuss the development of the incentive program.
Chapter 75 of the Acts of 2016 directed the Department of Energy Resources to develop a statewide solar incentive program to encourage the continued development of solar renewable energy generating sources by residential, commercial, governmental and industrial electricity customers. The law, signed last April, also raised the net metering cap by 3 percent on public and private projects.
The department states on its website that it is “working to create a long-term sustainable solar incentive program to promote cost-effective solar development in the Commonwealth.”
The department intends to file emergency regulations in March based on the intended program design.
On Feb. 8, Michael Judge and Antonio Barletta from the Department of Energy Resources gave a presentation to the MMA Policy Committee on Energy and the Environment to explain the SMART program design and its implications for municipal solar projects.
According to the department, the SMART program is designed to provide more revenue certainty. The program would be for 1,600 megawatts and would have a declining block structure.
Base compensation rates for the program would be set according to project size and would be the same across the state. Base compensation rates would decline by set percentages in each block.
• Link to DOER website for more information about the SMART program