Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
Many municipalities looking to install solar projects are currently waiting, as two key solar project financing programs have reached their cap.
The “net metering” cap on solar projects has been reached in some service regions and legislative action is needed to lift the cap.
In addition, the Department of Energy Resources announced to solar stakeholders on Feb. 5 that the Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC) II solar incentive program has reached its cap for projects over 25 kilowatts DC. The SREC program hit its capacity sooner than many had expected.
Net metering is a critical part of solar development financing, and the net metering cap is currently stalling solar projects in many municipalities.
The House and Senate each passed bills last fall that would lift the net metering cap on public projects from 5 percent to 7 percent, but the two branches have not yet reached an agreement on differences between the two bills, which are currently in a conference committee.
The House bill would reduce the value of “net metering” credits for municipal projects to the wholesale rate, once the 1,600-megawatt goal is met, resulting in a 75 percent cut. The Senate bill would make a smaller cut to the rate of the net metering credit for municipal projects by reducing compensation to the “retail-minus-distribution” rate.
In a letter to the conference committee on Feb. 5, the MMA reiterated its support for lifting the net metering cap on public projects from 5 percent to 7 percent. The letter followed the adoption at the association’s Annual Business Meeting of a policy resolution regarding net metering.
The MMA expressed concerns about provisions that would change the net metering credit for projects after the Commonwealth reached 1,600 megawatts of solar. This would make projects less feasible for municipalities and result in less overall savings or revenue generation.
The MMA also opposed a provision that would allow the Department of Public Utilities to accept proposals that add a minimum bill charge for solar customers and opposed provisions that would transition existing customers to the rate of the new net metering credit after a number of years. These provisions could be particularly detrimental to municipalities with existing projects, which, if not grandfathered, could see a significant change in the savings that a project was expected to provide.
The MMA supported provisions in the House and Senate bills that would direct the Department of Energy Resources to develop a new solar incentive program to encourage the continued development of solar renewable energy generating sources.
Nearly every municipality in the Commonwealth hosts a solar project and municipalities have played a key role in the state’s renewable energy success by hosting solar facilities on municipal property.