For many years, Massachusetts has been a leader in community solar deployment. The state’s solar market is 5,630 MW of installed solar and $13.6 billion in investment with a five year growth projection of 2,119 MW. It currently has 539 community solar projects providing 900 MW with an average project size of 1.6 MW and over 1600 MW of capacity in development. New annual community solar installations hit their peak in 2021 with over 300 MW added. In 2025, the sector added 20 MW.

The Bay State consistently ranks in the top 4-5 states of community solar and holds 10-12% of the total US market. The state has also done much to promote community solar-plus-storage. Legislators set a goal of 5000 MW of energy storage in four years, and Massachusetts currently has 125 large-scale battery storage projects totaling 481 MW. Additionally, as of late 2024 the state hosted 89 of the 288 (less than 7 MW) community solar-plus-storage projects in the US.

Innovative Community Solar Incentivization

Massachusetts has served as a model for policy development that supports community solar growth. Two years after the 2008 Green Communities Act established the Solar Carve-Out within the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard, the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) set up the Commonwealth’s first Solar Renewable Energy Credit program, Solar Carve-Out I (SREC I).

However, it was the enactment of SREC II in 2014 that was truly groundbreaking for community solar as a model. The program established a format consisting of an “anchor” tenant that could have up to 50% of the capacity plus multiple subscribers for 25 kW or less, something that expanded the market to subscribers beyond large commercial subscribers. It allowed the anchor tenant to underwrite the system for financing and opened subscribership to hundreds of households and small businesses.

The Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) program, an incentive-based initiative, was launched in 2018. Administered by the DOER, the program paid more for community solar farms, especially those benefiting low-income households. Its third iteration, SMART 3.0, became effective late last year with stronger incentives for subscribers like self-attestation of income and higher savings for general and low-income community members. The 3.0 program also offers increased storage adders to improve the economics of solar-plus-storage projects.

The state took the push for equity in community solar a step further in April 2024 with the “Solar for All” program. Funded by the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, the initiative was launched after receiving $156 million to expand low-income solar access under the Inflation Reduction Act. The funds were stacked on top of existing incentives for low-income state residents.

An Exemplary Policy Structure

In 2025 Massachusetts scored 8 out of 13 on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s Community Power Scorecard. This was partly due to the fact that in the state’s 2024 climate bill, lawmakers established new intervenor compensation programs that promoted greater consumer and community group participation in regulatory proceedings surrounding issues like equity and subscribership. The ILRS also pointed to the fact that the Commonwealth’s policies align with principles of effective community solar: tangible participant benefits, flexible ownership structure, dovetailing with other renewables policies and equity regarding access.

Standard Solar in Massachusetts

Standard Solar has a significant presence in the state, leveraging the community solar and energy storage models to offset local electricity demand for a number of communities and help the state meet its clean energy goals. We own and operate the Copicut solar + storage project in Freetown with more than 12 MW of solar and 22-MWh of storage, a system that received an award from the SMART program. There is also the almost 3 MW Main Street Newbury system in Byfield and farms in East Normac and Godfrey. Two recent acquisitions are the 3.2 MW, five array Churchill Street Solar Farm in Pittsfield and the 2.38 MW solar + 999 kW battery storage project in Westport, expected to produce approximately 2,500 MWh of clean energy annually.