Maine
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Learn about the ins and outs of solarizing your home in MA, and discover the ReVision Energy difference.
Now is a great time to transition to solar energy in Massachusetts! Thanks to a strong combination of federal, statewide, and local incentives, going solar is more accessible than ever for Massachusetts residents and business owners. You can increase your energy security and reduce your electric bills, all while getting away from expensive, polluting fossil fuels.
We know it can be overwhelming to keep up with the various clean energy incentives and opportunities for Massachusetts residents. To help you make the transition to solar energy, we’ve compiled this guide. Read on or navigate to the topics covered below:
Utility rates in Massachusetts are at an all-time high, making daily life increasingly expensive for residents. This is primarily due to the fact that around 50% of electricity in New England — much higher than the national average — comes from natural gas.
Natural gas is a globally destabilized, finite resource that is neither produced by nor easily transported to our region. It's expensive to import it from other parts of the U.S. and Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine has driven up natural gas prices globally. As a result, Massachusetts utilities have hiked their rates, passing these added costs on to residents.
Meanwhile, solar power is abundant, local, and stable! Enough sunlight hits the Earth every hour to power the entire world for a year, and it's not affected by global conflict.
We frequently get asked: "How much will my electric bill decrease after I go solar?"
This answer depends on your current energy consumption and your plans for future electrification of your home. By transitioning to an All-Electric Household (heating and cooling with an air source heat pump, hot water from a heat pump water heater, and an EV charger for your car) you will be using more electricity than before. However, you will eliminate your dependence on oil, gas, and propane and the costly bills that accompany those fuels. And when you create your own electricity with your solar array, you will ultimately see high savings.
We strive to design a system that will meet close to 100% of your home’s needs, though the capacity to do so is affected by such factors as the amount of available space for an array and the orientation of your roof. Your bill will certainly decrease, but the exact amount is specific to each home and homeowner, which is why our Solar Advisors and Design Specialists ask to see your recent electric bill.
Pictured below: a projection of savings for one of our recent residential projects in MA
Homeowners who install solar and other energy efficient products are eligible for a federal tax credit set forth by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Also known as the Residential Clean Energy Credit, this benefit allows you to deduct 30% of your solar energy system’s total cost from your federal taxes, through the end of 2032. Here are the key takeaways:
In the image below, we've summarized the incentives included under the IRA's Residential Clean Energy Credit most relevant to those looking to go solar in Massachusetts:
Supplementing the Residential Clean Energy tax credit, Massachusetts also offers three essential state tax benefits to solar users: a property tax exemption on the added home value from your solar system, a solar project sales tax exemption on the installation, and a state solar 15% tax credit. This state solar tax credit is worth 15% of the price paid for the system or $1,000 – whichever is less.
Additional programs and incentives are available. Learn more in our detailed guide below.
When the sun is shining, your solar system generates clean energy and powers your home in real time. Any excess energy produced will go out to the localized electric grid, where it’s used to power other homes in your neighborhood. Your utility provider will credit you for that exported energy, and you can draw upon credit to power your own home at times of low solar production. You are likely to stock up on credits during the summer months, then use those credits as the days get shorter.
If you’re a National Grid or Eversource customer with a solar system size of up to 10 kilowatts, you’ll be eligible for a special meter that measures the difference between electricity produced by your utility provider and by your solar array. This meter registers bidirectional flow of electricity, both inward from your energy supplier and outward from your home. The net result each month is used to calculate your electric bill: both National Grid and Eversource will currently credit you for the full value of kilowatt hours produced by your system.
If your electricity is provided by a Municipal Light Plant (MLP), your eligibility for net metering and rate of reimbursement will depend on your MLP. While some MLPs offer the same 1:1 net metering as National Grid and Eversource, under the same eligibility requirements, this is not universally the case. In the case that you are ineligible for net metering or your credit rate is less than 1:1, other incentives may exist to make up for lost reimbursement. As soon as you fill out a free evaluation form, you’ll want to consult your MLP and learn more about their specific solar guidelines.
Yes, ReVision Energy offers solar loans for no money down, with monthly payments the same as or lower than your current electric bill.
Our Solar Design Specialists can connect you to loan options that are competitively priced, carry affordable monthly payments, and require no money down. We offer and recommend loans that can be used to finance not only your solar array but also complementary technology (i.e. heat pumps, batteries, electric vehicle chargers), replacing your current electric bill while bringing you closer with each payment to owning your own power. After designing a system to meet your needs, we’ll work with you to identify the most suitable loan package possible and accelerate your return on investment.
Many municipalities in Massachusetts are engaged in Community Choice Aggregation, a means of replacing National Grid or Eversource as a buyer and producer of electricity in order to offer residents lower-cost options for their energy needs. There are often cost-tiered options available within this structure, so that your electricity supply can come from mostly renewable sources. While this is a great opportunity to support clean energy projects, aggregation is not the most reliable or sustainable solution. Aggregated rate reductions are only locked in for three years at a time, and are likely to increase as aggregation becomes more widely adopted. For long-term, guaranteed cost savings and positive climate impact, nothing beats generating your own power and contributing clean energy to the grid for decades.
When our Solar Design Specialists calculate your return on investment, they’ll base numbers on what you currently pay for electricity. So, if your city or town has implemented aggregation, the community-choice tier you’ve opted into will be reflected. Your solar project’s payback period may appear longer than it would if calculated with a pre-aggregation utility rate but keep in mind that your rate in 25 years—and therefore your total solar savings—will far exceed what we are able to represent.
Folks going solar in Massachusetts have a few options, but the most popular is a grid-tied solar electric array that ensures reliable backup power from the utility grid when there is insufficient sun available to power your home, such as at night and on stormy days. Most of the systems we design will meet close to 100% of a home’s needs throughout the year; in the summer, you will produce more power than you need, earning credit for use in the winter, when you will likely need more power than you produce.
Speaking of winter - did you know solar panels are actually more efficient in colder temperatures, making Massachusetts a great spot year-round for solar production? In the brisk but sunny fall and spring, solar panels in Massachusetts will produce a disproportionately high amount of power, helping to make up for lower power generation in the winter due to shorter days.
ReVision Energy is a mission-driven, employee-owned solar company. We pride ourselves in our 20 years of experience in the industry, our high-quality workmanship, attention to detail, and our friendly nature.
We are an employee-owned company, Certified B Corp with a mission to make life better by building a just and equitable future. In addition to investing in a solar system which lowers your utility bills and helps the environment, you will also be supporting a company whose business model is founded upon the principles and values of putting people and the environment before profit.