Massachusetts: MassCEC - Commonwealth Solar Hot Water Commercial Pilot Program

Update: MassCEC is no longer accepting pre-design study grants.  Construction grant applications are being accepted.

Pre-design study grants

Beginning in August 2011, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) will provide grants* for pre-design study of commercial solar hot water systems through the Commonwealth Solar Hot Water Commercial Pilot Program. Commonwealth Solar Hot Water Commercial grants are available to electricity customers served by the following Massachusetts investor-owned electric utilities: Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light (Unitil), National Grid, NSTAR Electric and Western Massachusetts Electric. In addition, customers of certain municipal lighting plant (MLP) including Ashburnham, Templeton, Holden, Holyoke and Russell utilities are eligible. Only entities that live in territories that contribute to the MassCEC Renewable Energy Trust Fund are eligible for the grant.

Up to $10,000 is available for private entities, with a cost-share of at least 25%. The cap for public entities is also $10,000 but there is no cost share requirement. To be eligible, building owners must hire an experienced consultant to do the pre-design work. The project location must be appropriate and must have enough sun and the building must have year-round hot water needs. The application must also demonstrate that the time frame and budget required for the pre-design study are "reasonable." The consultant completes and submits the application and supporting documentation (such as aerial photos, copies of electric bills) on the building owner's behalf. All projects must be approved before pre-design study work begins.

It should be noted that a pre-design study is required to be eligible for construction grants. 

Construction grants

The same eligibility requirements apply to construction grants as pre-design study grants. Systems may be installed regardless of the source of back-up heating (not restricted to just electricity back-up).  Third-party ownership is permitted. Rebates are calculated by multiplying $25 times the number of collectors times the SRCC rating (for commercial installations, public installations are eligible for $30 times the collectors times SRCC). There are adders available for components manufactured in Massachusetts as well as for buildings impacted by the June 1, 2011 tornado in western Massachusetts (additional back up documentation is required to prove the building was impacted by the tornado). The rebates are capped at 25% system costs or $25,000 for commercial installations and 30% the total cost or $30,000 for public installations.

Applications are completed online by the installer.  Pre-approval is required and the installation must occur within 9 months of receiving approval. MassCEC may inspect any system after it is installed. Performance monitoring equipment must be installed (and is considered part of the total project costs).

* Although the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center calls these "grants," these incentives are first-come, first-served and are non-competitive as long as all the eligibility criteria are met. Therefore, it falls under the categorization of "rebate" according to DSIRE methodology.