Solar News & Information
Rooftop Solar in Massachusetts is Best for the Environment
September 13, 2021
Rooftop solar power is the most productive way for the state of Massachusetts to meet carbon reduction goals. Here’s why.
The state has a reasonably long history of promoting clean energy through policy and incentives. The Solar Massachusetts Renewable Energy Target (SMART) program is currently the primary initiative driving solar energy development. Recently, the program has been expanded to meet the newer challenges and to accelerate solar power beyond the current status – over 3 gigawatts of solar energy capacity can generate over 15% of the state’s electricity.
Yet, like neighboring state Connecticut, Massachusetts is densely populated and without much open land. Between agriculture and the need to maintain what forested areas already exist, it is difficult to locate and justify committing areas for large scale solar installations.
New Rules for Ground Mounted Solar
The legislature has purposefully change rules associated with larger, ground mounted solar systems as it evolves the SMART program. A distinction is made between brownfields and greenfields. Incentives encourage the productive use of land not suitable for commercial development such as landfills and industrial sites considered contaminated or environmentally risky for habitation. For example, the state has famously promoted the development of a nearly 6 MW solar farm on the site previously supporting a coal-fired power plant in Holyoke, MA.
Environmental groups are intensifying their opposition to the use of greenfields in the state, saying those projects will result in unacceptable deforestation. Current SMART policies also penalize the use of greenfields for larger solar projects.
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Rooftop Solar Energy is the Future
You may ask, “what does this mean?” To SunRa Solar, these views and corresponding policies significantly enhance the value of our work installing rooftop solar panels on homes across eastern Massachusetts. Consider the most recent climate policy of 2021 creating carbon reduction law:
- By 2030 it limits the carbon emissions to 50% of the 1990 levels.
- By 2040 the limit is 75% of the 1990 levels.
- The goal is to reach zero-emissions by 2050.
Electricity generation and transportation are the dominant carbon emitters. Looking at the existing available roof area in Massachusetts, the solar potential statewide is tremendous. But even better, if hypothetically only the Springfield and Worcester areas were to solarize, about half of the state’s power demands could be met.
Rooftop solar is a clean energy priority for the state to meet the long term zero-carbon goals. Every homeowner that
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