Archive for the ‘Massachusetts’ Category

MassSolar Launches “Solar Is Working” Website

Posted March 13th, 2015 by SRECTrade.

On Monday, March 9th, MassSolar proudly announced the launch of their new website, www.SolarIsWorking.org. MassSolar is a collaboration of Massachusetts solar business, solar owners, environmental advocates, community organizations, and motivated citizens dedicated to advancing progressive solar policy Massachusetts. As a versatile resource hub catering to the diverse solar community, MassSolar seeks to achieve modernization and maximization of efforts in the Massachusetts solar sphere while specifically focusing on expansion of the state’s solar economy.

The intuitive site provides its users with a variety of resources useful for installers, residential PV system owners, legislators, and the curious alike. In addition to market reports and factsheets, the site offers a blog that will host contributions from stakeholders across the Commonwealth’s solar community. MassSolar intends for the site to serve as a platform for discussions surrounding a home’s solar potential, the Net Metering and Solar Task Force proceedings, as well as legislation impacting the state’s solar industry.

MassSolar’s website also provides fun, yet informative, segments for the less solar savvy such as “10 Things About Solar Energy” and “Solar Stories,” a compilation of anecdotal evidence that highlights the advantages of solar programs in Massachusetts and the efficacy of current statewide programs. To share your solar story, please send it to info@solarisworking.org.

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Massachusetts Solar Loan Program Finalized

Posted January 14th, 2015 by SRECTrade.

On January 6, 2015, the Patrick Administration announced the final design of a $30 million residential solar loan program aimed to facilitate 6,000 loans over the next three years. The program, a partnership between the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) and MassCEC, will work with local banks and credit unions to provide financing to homeowners interested in solar electrical systems. The loan will expand borrowing options through lower interest rate loans and encourage loans for homeowners with lower income or lower credit scores.

Though loan terms may vary by lender, homeowners who are approved for Mass Solar Loan can expect:

An interest rate of 3 percent or lower
A loan for between $3,000 and $35,000
A payback period of up to 10 years if the loan is for $15,000 or more
The ability to readjust the terms of the loan in the event of changes in state and federal tax credits

Over the next few months, MassCEC will work to enhance the program website, signup banks and credit unions to participate in this program and develop an online application tool. It is anticipated that the program will begin accepting solar loan applications by Spring 2015.

For more information on this program you can refer to the Mass Solar Loan Webpage and the DOER Final Loan Design Page.

Please contact SRECTrade if you have any questions.

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Massachusetts DOER Discusses Final Design to Bring Renewable Thermal into APS

Posted December 19th, 2014 by SRECTrade.

On Tuesday, December 16th the DOER presented a draft of their final design for guidelines pertaining to the inclusion of renewable thermal technologies in the Massachusetts Alternative Portfolio Standard (APS). Per the statute, the DOER will be including technologies that generate useful thermal energy from sunlight, biomass, biogas, liquid biofuel or naturally occurring temperature differences in the ground, air, or water, and has been conducting a comprehensive stakeholder review prior to the formal rulemaking process next year.

While the regulations will likely not go into effect until Summer 2015, the current draft proposes to be retroactive, so that eligible systems installed from January 1, 2015 onwards could qualify for the APS. This is welcome news for renewable technologies such as Solar Hot Water systems, which are not currently included in the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) nor the APS.

Here we will highlight several aspects of the regulation that are especially important for Solar Hot Water installers and owners. Under the proposed draft, eligible solar thermal technologies must be:

– Active solar thermal technology using evacuated tubes or flat place collectors for space heating, domestic hot water, or process hot water.

In terms of the specific registration metering requirements, the draft designates a cutoff between “Small” and “Large” solar thermal systems at surface area of 660 square feet. Larger systems will likely be required to adhere to stringent metering and reporting standards, while small systems will be able to produce Alternative Energy Credits (AECs) based off of the projected output of their system.

In order to reduce the complexity of AEC sales for residential and small commercial owners that fall under the “Small” category of each of these renewable thermal technologies, the DOER is proposing a 10-year upfront strip of AECs in lieu of producing AECs over time. Non-emitting renewable thermal technologies, like Solar Hot Water, would also receive a multiplier on their credits in recognition of their environmental advantage and current higher levelized cost.

Currently the MA APS market is undersupplied, with credits trading in the range of $15-$20/AEC. SRECTrade will continue to follow these regulations closely and keep stakeholders informed on how we will be assisting system owners with AEC transaction and management services.

Posted in Massachusetts, Solar Thermal | Comments Off on Massachusetts DOER Discusses Final Design to Bring Renewable Thermal into APS

December 11, 2014 Massachusetts SREC Market Update Webinar Slides and Recording Available

Posted December 12th, 2014 by SRECTrade.

On December 11, 2014, SRECTrade hosted a webinar on the MA SREC market. For access to the slides please click here: SRECTrade 12/11/14 MA SREC Update. For access to a video recording of the webinar, click the image below.

This document and recording is protected by copyright laws and contains material proprietary to SRECTrade, Inc. It or any components may not be reproduced, republished, distributed, transmitted, displayed, broadcast or otherwise exploited in any manner without the express prior written permission of SRECTrade, Inc. The receipt or possession of this document does not convey any rights to reproduce, disclose, or distribute its contents, or to manufacture, use, or sell anything that it may describe, in whole or in part. If consent to use these materials is granted, a link to the current version of this document on the SRECTrade website must be included for reference.

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Massachusetts DOER Announces Updated SREC-I and II Requirements

Posted December 2nd, 2014 by SRECTrade.

Today, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (MA DOER) announced the estimated megawatt hour compliance exemptions for SREC-I and SREC-II. Results were derived from a survey of retail electric suppliers serving power in the state.

According to the survey, the expected impact on 2014 and 2015 SREC demand for the SREC-II program, due to exempt load, will be a 35% decrease (14.6k SRECs) for 2014 and a 19% decrease (31.0k SRECs) for 2015. Additionally a small portion of SRECs (25.3k) from the SREC-I program will be exempt in 2015, a 2.4% decrease. Any potential impact on requirements for 2016 onward have not yet been provided. The chart below demonstrates the SREC-II obligation decrease, original vs. estimate, in 2014 and 2015.

For the latest on MA SREC pricing click here: December 2014 SREC Price Update

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Massachusetts Market Update Webinar – December 11th at 2 pm ET

Posted November 25th, 2014 by SRECTrade.

SRECTrade will host a webinar on Thursday, December 11th at 2 pm ET to review the Massachusetts SREC market.

Items to be covered in the webinar:

SREC-I and SREC-II market pricing and supply
The latest from the Net Metering and Solar Task Force
Next steps for net metering and solar policy development in Massachusetts

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Massachusetts DOER Announces Net Metering and Solar Task Force

Posted November 6th, 2014 by SRECTrade.

On November 6, the DOER announced the establishment of the Net Metering and Solar Task Force, pursuant to Ch. 251 of the Acts of 2014, Section 7. Information on Task Force members, meetings, and materials are available on the official website of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) here.

The first Task Force meeting will take place on Thursday, November 13th from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. ET, at the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection office in Boston.

Task Force meetings are open to the public, but the DOER has requested that attendees RSVP to Marissa.Fimiani@state.ma.us, as space is limited. Although the meetings are open to the public, the DOER encourages stakeholders to work through Task Force members to provide input. In addition to the regular Task Force meetings, two Stakeholder meetings will be held to allow for public input.

There will be a call-in number for those who are not able to travel to Boston, which will likely be posted on the EEA site referenced above.

The Task Force members are:

Member
Meg Lusardi, DOER Commissioner; Task Force Co-Chair
Kate McKeever, DPU Commissioner; Task Force Co-Chair
Benjamin B. Downing, Senator
Brian S. Dempsey, Representative
To Be Appointed By Senator Bruce E. Tarr
To Be Appointed By Representative Bradley H. Jones
Paul Brennan, Attorney General’s Office
David Colton, Easton Town Administrator
Robert Rio, Associated Industries of Massachusetts
Charles Harak, National Consumer Law Center
William Stillinger, PV Squared
Fred Zalcman, SunEdison
Janet Besser, New England Clean Energy Council
Geoff Chapin, Next Step Living
Lisa Podgurski, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 103
Camilo Serna, Northeast Utilities
Amy Rabinowitz, National Grid

Tags: Massachusetts, Massachusetts DOER, Massachusetts SRECs, Net Metering
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MA DOER Revises 2016 Managed Growth SREC-II Capacity

Posted September 18th, 2014 by SRECTrade.

On September 18, 2014, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources announced a revision to the Managed Growth allocation for 2016. The DOER explains that after “a careful review of all the comments received, DOER determined that some valid arguments existed for scaling back its initial projections, and therefore decided to make some alterations to its analysis.”

The net result is a 20 MW allocation to the Managed Growth sector for 2016. Initially, DOER indicated the allocation would be zero when the first analysis was published on August 26.

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August 21, 2014 Massachusetts SREC Market Update Webinar Slides and Recording Available

Posted August 22nd, 2014 by SRECTrade.

On August 21, 2014, SRECTrade hosted a webinar on the MA SREC market. For access to the slides please click here: SRECTrade 8/21/14 MA SREC Update. For access to a video recording of the webinar, click the image below.

Note: For access to the latest net metering information, slide 15 was updated to include a link to the Mass ACA website.

Tags: H.4185, Net Metering
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Massachusetts Market Update Webinar – August 21st at 2 pm ET

Posted August 14th, 2014 by SRECTrade.

SRECTrade will host a webinar on Thursday, August 21st at 2 pm ET to review the Massachusetts SREC market.

The last several months in Massachusetts have been dynamic. The Massachusetts SREC-II program started on April 25, 2014. Also, sweeping legislation was proposed that would have fundamentally changed the Massachusetts solar industry.

Items to be covered in Thursday’s webinar:

SREC-I and SREC-II market pricing and supply
The 3rd round successful outcome of the MA2013 SREC-I Solar Credit Clearinghouse Auction
Overview of the rise and fall of H.4185 (An act relative to net metering)
Next steps for net metering (and SREC policy) development in Massachusetts

Tags: H.4185, SREC II, SREC-I
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