Mass. businesses driving growth in solar investments

Boston.com

The solar energy market is booming in Massachusetts, as commercial building owners, municipalities, and name-brand retailers like REI and Kohl’s take advantage of state incentives that have made it more affordable to fund solar power projects.

Even as activity has slowed in several other key states, the number of installations here has grown so steadily that the Solar Energy Industries Association, a national trade group, expects Massachusetts to rank in the top 10 among states that will add the most solar power this year.

A recent report by the association and Boston market analysis firm GTM Research showed that in the first half of the year alone 27.1 megawatts of solar energy-generating capacity were installed in the state’s nonresidential sector, the fastest-growing major market segment.

Related: Massachusetts Solar Data