December 14, 2007

Boston, MA, USA: Patrick Administration and Mass Technology Collaborative Launch $68M Solar Initiative

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick is placing priority on accelerating the pace of solar electricity photovoltaic installations and providing the PV industry with assurance that a predictable set of PV incentives will be in place for several years.

To that end, the administration and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) announced today, a bold new initiative, the Commonwealth Solar Initiative (CSI).

The CSI is a $68 million program over the next four years to support PV installations in Massachusetts.

The effort combines $40 million from the Renewable Energy Trust with $28 million from the Alternative Compliance Payment funds.

The state estimates that this focused endeavor on PV will result in 27 megawatts (MW) of additional installations over the next four years.

CSI is a non-competitive rebate program that will be available on a rolling basis similar to MTC’s current Small Renewables Initiative. Residential and non-residential customers alike will be eligible for the PV rebates. CSI will roll most of MTC’s PV-related initiative into a single initiative to simplify the PV application process and decision-making for ratepayers interested in installing PV.

The details of the CSI are currently under development.