Commonwealth Solar: Steps to Apply
Step 1. Am I eligible for a Commonwealth Solar rebate?
Commonwealth Solar rebates are available to electricity customers served by the following Massachusetts investor-owned electric utilities:
- Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light (Unitil)
- National Grid
- NSTAR Electric
- Western Massachusetts Electric
To determine if you are eligible, look at your electricity bill or the map of electric utility service territories located here.
Step 2. Is solar PV compatible with my site?
Prior to contacting an installer or vendor, you should do some research to determine whether or not a PV project is compatible with your home or building. For example, does your site have enough roof space, structural roof strength, and access to sunlight throughout the day to support a feasible PV project? The following resources will help you to better understand the characteristics of good sites for PV:
Solar PV Information Guides
Solar PV Non-Residential Guide published by the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust and SEBANE
Solar PV Residential Guide – published by the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust and SEBANE
Solar PV Third Party Ownership Information – published by the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust
Step 3. How do I estimate my rebate and project savings?
A Commonwealth Solar rebate can cover a portion of the PV project costs, but you must still make an investment. The following tools can help you estimate the rebate amount, the total project cost, and the savings associated with a PV project. As discussed in Step 4, an installer can provide you with more detailed estimates. The actual rebate is based on the capacity and characteristics of the PV project.
Commonwealth Solar also allows for third-party ownership of PV projects. In this case, the PV project would be owned by a business that can benefit from tax incentives and pass through some of this benefit, in the form of electricity savings, to the host site.
Use the following links to estimate your rebate and project savings.
PV Project Rebate and Savings Estimators
Solar PV Residential Rebate and Savings Estimator
Solar PV Non-Residential Rebate and Savings Estimator (Financial Model)
Step 4. How do I select a PV installer?
You are responsible for selecting an installer. To help you select the right one, consider asking potential installers the following questions:
- Can you provide references from previous customers with similar PV projects?
- How many similar PV projects have you installed?
- When would you be able to perform the work?
- How long will the project take?
- What is the payment plan?
- Please describe the warranty provided on the PV project.
- Describe your experience working with local building officials and utility representatives when installing similar PV projects.
- Do you have a Massachusetts-licensed electrician as part of the project team?
- If you work with subcontractors, what firms will you hire and what will they do?
- What kind of training will you provide me with so that I can better operate and maintain my PV project?
- Please detail the savings that the PV project will provide?
Installers can help you with a more detailed site and financial assessment. In addition, they and any of their contractors will be responsible for providing you with a turnkey service and PV project installation. You are responsible for performing your own due diligence with regard to the experience and qualifications of potential installers and for making sure that they meet Commonwealth Solar requirements. The following links to installers are maintained by other entities:
PV Installers
Solar Energy Association of New England (SEBANE)
North East Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) Directory
Information on Installers, Costs, and Locations
Other Solar Resources
Disclaimer: The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) has not investigated, and expressly disclaims any duty to investigate, any company, product, service, process, procedure, design, or the like which may be presented on the aforementioned websites. The presentation of these website links does not constitute endorsement, warranty, or guaranty by MTC of any company, product, service, process, procedure, design, or the like. The entire risk of any information presented is assumed by the user.
Step 5. How do I prepare a PV project rebate application?
The installer you select will be responsible for preparing your rebate application and related items. You will need to assist by providing an electric bill and other supporting materials, reviewing application materials, and signing the application and participant's agreement.
Step 6. Installation and interconnection
Once your application has been approved, MTC will send you an Award Packet that includes your approved rebate award amount, the project completion deadline, a Project Completion Form, the Participant’s Agreement, information on the Production Tracking System, and detailed project requirements. Upon receipt of the Award Letter, you should notify your installer to begin work on the PV project.
Because the Award Packet contains the documents needed to secure your rebate payment, it is important to keep those documents in a safe place during the installation process.
Step 7. How do I receive my rebate payments?
Once the PV project has been installed and approved for interconnection by the electric utility, the installer will work with you to prepare the Project Completion Form and back-up documentation so that you can receive your rebate payment. Completion of the minimum energy efficiency requirement is also necessary before payment can be issued.
Energy Efficiency Resources
Prior to receiving the rebate payment from MTC, rebate applicants must meet minimum energy efficiency requirements described in Section 3.4 of the Commonwealth Solar Handbook.
MTC and DOER strongly encourage applicants to explore implementation of energy efficiency measures, in addition to their PV project, as a way to provide greater energy savings at the project site. For more information on local energy efficiency audits and programs available to Commonwealth Solar applicants, please visit your investor-owned utility’s website, or MassSAVE (which is geared toward residential customers):
| Massachusetts Electric Utility Energy Efficiency Resources |
MassSAVE (for residential customers) |
Other Resources |
Energy Star for Existing Homes |
Net Metering Provisions
Commonwealth Solar supports solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity generating installations at facilities that are grid connected to the local electric utility. This type of PV system is known as a utility interactive system. Such a system is allowed to interconnect with the grid and interact by either selling excess power to the grid when the PV panels are producing excess electricity, or purchasing whatever additional power is needed from the electric utility. The ability to sell the power back to the utility and receive a credit for the excess power produced is called net-metering. New legislation (The Green Communities Act) allows for homes and businesses in Massachusetts to net-meter at nearly the same rate that they pay for electricity, in most cases. The new net-metering rules are divided into three classes, depending on the size of the system, and the type of generation technology. Please see below for more information.
Expands previous 60 kW limit for net metering as follows:
– Class I: 60 kW or less (all technologies)
– Class II: >60 kW – 1 MW (solar, wind, agric.)
– Class III: >1 MW – 2 MW (solar, wind, agric.)
Net metering (solar) credits:
– i) default service kWh energy charge
– ii) distribution kWh charge (for Class III only if owned by muni/gov’t)
– iii) transmission kWh charge
– iv) transition kWh charge
Net excess is carried over month-to-month indefinitely
| LEGISLATION |
Please refer to section 138 of the Green Communities Act for new rules on net metering, here. |
Third-Party PV Financing Resources
MTC and DOER encourage applicants to explore various options for financing their PV project. One such option is known as Third-Party Financing. With Third-Party Financing, the PV system is owned and operated by an entity that is separate from the building owner or the PV installer. The Third-Party Financing entity has sufficient financial capital to pay for the entire installation and to maintain and operate the system over its lifetime. In return, the building owner, or “host” site, signs a long term contract agreeing to purchase all the power produced by the PV system.
Third-Party Financing is a way to install a large PV array with little or no up-front capital expense from the building owner or “host” site. This type of financing may be most applicable to entities such as non-profits or public buildings. The Third-Party PV Owner can utilize the substantial tax incentives available for PV projects, along with rebates and other incentives, plus the sale of the electricity from the PV array to finance the PV project.
Below are some sample or template materials that are being provided for educational or instructional purposes to assist municipalities and other non-taxable entities who are considering Third-Party PV Financing.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Disclaimer: These documents are intended to provide non-taxable entities that are considering the purchase and installation of solar energy equipment using a third-party financing model with a general understanding of possible legal and financial implications of such a purchase and installation. Those entities interested in learning more about the legal and financial implications of the purchase and installation of solar energy equipment are urged to consult their own legal, tax, and financial experts. The information contained in the attached documents should not be relied on by anyone for any purposes. Furthermore, the information contained in these materials does not necessarily reflect the views of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative or the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and reference to any specific method does not constitute an implied or expressed recommendation or endorsement of it. Neither the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative nor the Commonwealth of Massachusetts make any warranties or representations, expressed or implied, as to the usefulness, completeness, or accuracy of any processes, methods or other information contained, described, disclosed, or referred to in these materials. Finally, neither the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative nor the Commonwealth of Massachusetts makes any representation that the use of any product, apparatus, process, method, or other information will not infringe privately owned property rights and assumes no liability of any kind or nature for any loss, injury, or damage directly or indirectly resulting from, or occurring in connection with, the use of information contained, described, disclosed, or referred to in these third-party PV financing materials.