Solarize Mass

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and the Green Communities Division of the MA Department of Energy Resources are partnering with cities and towns across Massachusetts to bring competitively-priced solar electricity to home and business owners in the Commonwealth. Solarize Massachusetts (Solarize Mass) is a program that encourages the adoption of small-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) projects by deploying a coordinated education, marketing and outreach effort, combined with a group purchasing model that provides increased savings as more people in the community go solar.

Participating in the first round of the 2013 Solarize Mass program are Bourne, Brookline, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Lee, Medford, Medway, Newton, Northampton and Williamstown. Carlisle and Chelmsford will be participating in the program as a group.

• Solarize News and Announcements
• Program Overview
• Solarize Mass 2013 Program Details
• Solarize Mass 2013 Communities
• Requests for Proposals
• How To Participate

Solarize News and Announcements

• Patrick-Murray Administration Selects 10 Communities to Participate in Massachusetts Solar Incentive (4/5/13)
• Our opinion: Solarizing success (The Berkshire Eagle, 11/26/12)
• Solar-energy investments are paying off in Mass. (Boston Globe, 11/23/12)
• MassCEC Launches Solarize Massachusetts Program to Spur Solar Development (2/15/12)
• MassCEC's Solarize Mass Pilot Helps 162 Residents and Businesses Install Solar Energy (11/15/11)

Program Overview

In spring 2011, as part of Governor Deval Patrick’s initiative to install 250 megawatts (MW) of solar power in Massachusetts by 2017, MassCEC, in partnership with the Green Communities Division of the DOER, unveiled an innovative program model called Solarize Massachusetts.  In 2011, four communities participated, and in 2012, 17 communities participated. The Solarize model is aimed at driving mass adoption of small-scale solar electricity. The model has succeeded at all levels, reducing the installation costs of solar PV, saving customers money on their electricity bills, and enabling increased sales and job creation for solar PV installers.  

The Solarize Mass model relies on two key components:

1) A coordinated education, marketing and outreach effort targeted at home and business owners (deployed by a team consisting of municipal leaders, installers, and volunteers) with the purpose of generating interest in solar electricity and providing customer leads to the installer.

2) A tiered pricing structure for the installation of solar electricity that provides increased savings as more people in the community participate. 

The 2012 Solarize Mass Program resulted in more than 5,400 individuals expressing interest in pursuing solar electricity, and 748 residents and business owners in the 17 communities signing contracts to install over 4.8 MW of solar electricity capacity. In addition, the number of small-scale solar electricity projects in nearly every community will double as a direct result of the program. For more information, review the 2011 Solarize Mass Pilot Overview and the 2012 Solarize Mass Program Update.

2013 Solarize Mass Program Details

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) and the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) will conduct two rounds of the Solarize Mass program in 2013. During each round of the program, MassCEC and DOER will plan to select a minimum of eight (8) communities (or groups of communities) to participate in the program. Communities are welcome to apply to one or both rounds, but selected communities can only participate in the program once.

On January 16, MassCEC and DOER launched Round 1 of the 2013 Solarize Massachusetts program. Eligible Massachusetts cities and towns are invited to submit proposals for their participation in the 2013 Solarize Mass program, including plans for a grassroots outreach and public education campaign.

The customer sign-up and contracting period for Round 1 participating communities will begin Spring 2013 and will run through Summer 2013. It is expected that customers participating in the program will save more as the total contracted capacity of solar electricity within the community increases. This will occur in two ways, depending on whether a customer purchases their solar electricity system outright or enters into a power purchase agreement (PPA) or lease. For customers that purchase a system under the program, the tiered pricing model will result in a progressively greater reduction in the total purchase cost. Customers that enter into PPAs or leases will receive a greater financial incentive from the Installer as higher tiers of aggregate capacity within a community are reached.

2013 Solarize Mass Communities

Participating in the first round of the 2013 Solarize Mass program are Bourne, Brookline, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Lee, Medford, Medway, Newton, Northampton and Williamstown. Carlisle and Chelmsford will be participating in the program as a group.