Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
A design for the Lexington Police Station was one of the municipal solar canopy projects highlighted during the Solar Canopy Working Group meeting on May 9. (Image courtesy town of Lexington)
A Solar Canopy Working Group created by the climate law enacted last November is expected to submit its recommendations to the Legislature by the end of June.
Tasked with developing regulatory and legislative changes to encourage solar canopy developments across the Commonwealth, the working group includes appointees representing real estate, labor, solar, construction, electric utility, environmental groups, and local government.
Marlborough City Council President Mike Ossing, who also serves as chair of the MMA Policy Committee on Energy and the Environment, was appointed as the working group’s municipal government representative.
Potential areas of focus for the recommendations include suggestions on project financing, interconnection, and permitting.
The group’s third meeting, on May 9, discussed the municipal perspective on solar canopies and the successes and barriers local governments might face when developing such projects on municipal property.
Two municipal solar canopy projects in Lexington were discussed, including a canopy project over a portion of the police station’s parking lot, which required the approval of the town’s Historic Commission. (The town settled on a design resembling a 19th-century train station.)
A solar project in Maynard — a high school rooftop and canopy — is expected to support 70% of the site’s electricity needs.
For more information, visit the Solar Canopy Working Group website. Questions and public comment may be sent to Cobi.Frongillo@mass.gov.