Bay State Seeking Another 1,600 MW of Solar With New Incentive Program

On Oct. 28th, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER), headed by Commissioner Judith Judson, accepted initial comments on the Baker Administration’s proposal for a new solar incentive program in the Bay State.

While their proposal was rolled out publicly with some fanfare on Sept. 23, and got some press coverage, the size of this new initiative has received relatively little attention.

Team Baker’s proposal is to support another 1,600 megawatts AC solar development with an incentive program that reduces the amount of incentive solar systems would receive over time. With solar capital costs continuing to fall, SEIA supports the concept of reducing the incentive amounts.

Governor Baker’s milestone is essentially a doubling of the Commonwealth’s current solar capacity goal. On October 5, DOER reported that 1,576 MW of solar projects are qualified under the current incentive program. This new target also puts the Bay State on the path to having 5 gigawatts of solar installed by the year 2025.

SEIA commends the Baker Administration and specifically the DOER for advancing an initial proposal that would support this level of solar development. But this isn’t a done deal.

The final proposal will determine the overall size of the program, incentive levels themselves, and program mechanics. Dozens of other thorny details still need to be worked out, including how to best plug the gap between the end of the current incentive program for larger solar projects and the beginning of the next one. But 1,600 MW is a great place to start this conversation.

You can read our comments here and find a link to the initial Straw Proposal here. In the end, we’ve said the DOER Straw Proposal is a solid foundation upon which to build, and we appreciate the Baker Administration’s continued leadership on solar issues.