Getting SMART
On November 26, 2018, Massachusetts’ new SMART program went into effect. SMART stands for Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target. It is a program designed to replace the previous Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC) program as one of the primary means of incentivizing distributed solar installations in the Commonwealth.
For the vast majority of new distributed solar customers in Massachusetts, the SMART program is relatively straightforward: SMART participants receive fixed per-kilowatt-hour (kWh) incentive compensation for 10 years. The incentive for new participants is set to decline in steps as deployment proceeds through the 1,600 MW target. But, special provisions apply for customers who install combined solar and storage systems, low-income customers, community solar installations, or larger commercial and industrial solar installations. Read our “Getting SMART” guidebook to learn all the ins and outs of the SMART program in plain English.
If you are already familiar with the existing incentives for distributed solar facilities in Massachusetts, SMART primarily changes only one part of that set. New installations as of November 26, 2018 will not be eligible for SRECs. They will instead enroll in SMART. Below is a quick summary of the change in solar incentives between the two programs.
