MetroWest solar execs wait for net metering solution
The solar business is thriving in Massachusetts, thanks to the state's net metering program, which has made it advantageous for commercial customers to adopt solar energy systems for power.
But local industry executives are preparing for a potential slowdown as the debate over a cap on net metering continues, and the expiration of federal incentives for solar energy draws near.
In MetroWest communities, that slowdown may be imminent. Jim Dumas, principal of Hopkinton-based Solect Energy, which specializes in commercial and municipal solar installations, is hopeful that state government will implement a short-term solution to the net metering cap, which has been hit in National Grid's service territory.
Removed from Greater Boston, the National Grid service area has ample land for solar arrays. Under the current cap, last raised in June 2014, National Grid is already buying back the amount of solar energy from commercial customers required by state law, and Dumas said that's created a backlog of commercial customers who would like to install solar panel systems, but are waiting in hopes that the legislature will raise the net metering cap to make the projects economically feasible.
Hope for solar on Beacon Hill?
The fact that the Senate passed a bill in June to raise the cap to 1,600 megawatts, up from the current 1,000, (roughly 4 and 5 percent of total energy generation statewide) bodes well, according to Dumas.
