After almost a two year review, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities approved the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) program in late September of this year. This new state solar incentive program replaces the SREC II Program that has been in place in Massachusetts since 2014. The SMART program is promoting 1,600 MW of new solar development. Companies interested in developing new solar projects in Massachusetts can begin applying for inclusion in the program on November 26 when the program officially launches.

At Quest, we were curious about how our customers were planning to deploy the SMART program now that the application date has been set. We talked to twenty progressive customers who are working in Massachusetts. Here is what we learned:

– The nearly two years of delays in the roll out of the program have been frustrating for both site owners and our customers and have had negative implications for projects. Site owners are uncertain if projects will go forward having been told they would be built up to 18 months ago.

– All welcome the decision that every application filed the first five days will be considered first in line, but perspectives on how many blocks will close out immediately vary widely: from all filled first week, to first block open at the end of the week.

– First movers in selling SMART projects feel penalized because blocks will most likely fill up quickly.

– Enthusiasm about the high rates offered by the adders and base rates is tempered by the potentially high cost of securing interconnection agreements and permits before applying. Combined with the uncertainty of which block a given project will fall into, this has caused some customers to be cautious about over-selling the SMART program.

– There are varying outlooks on which utilities will fill their tranches quickly. We heard opinions on each utility that ranged from “will never fill up” to “will fill up all blocks on the first day.” The only exception is the over water adder where consensus is that those projects will be available for a long time due to their construction complexity.

– Most feel the subtractors are not high enough to disqualify larger green field projects.

– We observed companies with varying strategies which indicates a broad group of applications rather than multiple companies focused on the same type of project in one geography.

– All companies look forward to the 400MW review by the Department of Energy Resources to balance out anticipated inconsistencies in the program. Though, as mentioned above, the anticipation of what will be over and under subscribed varies widely. It will be interesting to see what parts of the program need adjustment.

As a result of these conversations, one consistency we found is that there is inconsistency on how industry stakeholders expect the program to play out. We heard varying strategic approaches to the Massachusetts market, and learned that each EPC has a unique take on the incentive. One thing is clear, commercial solar carports make a lot of sense, and are resonating with developers since carports fall in a higher revenue bracket than some of the other solar application types included in the incentive. We would love to hear your thoughts and how your company will participate. If you were not a part of our initial survey, call Quest at 404-536-5787 or drop us a line today to let us know your thoughts and strategic plans.

To find out more, visit the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources website.