This week the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) issued an order revising the state’s Net Metering Program regulations. The new regulations will allow for municipal and state-owned to take advantage of net metering, the transfer of net metering credits between utilities, exemptions for large commercial solar facilities from caps, and restructure cost recovery to save ratepayers an estimated $10 million. The new regulations will help spur the deployment of solar facilities across the state, support Massachusetts’s move towards electrification, and cut costs for residents and businesses.   

Modifications to the Net Metering Program include:  

· Municipal or state-owned facilities that generate 60 kilowatts (kW) or less can now qualify under the public cap of the Net Metering Program; 

· New ability to transfer net metering credits from certain net metering facilities served by one utility to customers of a different Massachusetts electric distribution company (EDC); 

· Exempts facilities that serve on-site load and are larger than 60 kW and less than or equal to 2,000 kW (if private) or 10,000 kW (if public) from the net metering caps (for example commercial rooftop or adjacent parking lot canopy); and 

· Changes to the treatment of the Net Metering Recovery Surcharge (NMRS) to reduce costs of the program to ratepayers. 

Massachusetts has tapped 10.8% of its rooftop solar generation potential, among the highest adoption rates in the country, according to Environment America. The new regulations are expected to help spur the deployment of solar facilities across the state, support Massachusetts’s move towards electrification, and cut costs for residents and businesses.

This regulatory change bucks a national trend set by California, a state that has sent its rooftop solar industry reeling with its transition to Net Energy Metering 3.0. After slashing its net metering credit rates by about 75%, among other moves, the state has suffered over 17,000 job losses, major bankruptcies, and a sharp drop in rooftop solar installations. Analysts say that California is now off-track for reaching its climate goals. Other major rooftop solar markets, including North Carolina, Arizona, and others have followed California in cutting net metering rates, despite the industry tailspin.

Meanwhile, Massachusetts has doubled down on net metering, recognizing the system-wide cost and resilience benefits of rooftop solar.

“Net metering enables customers to cut their energy costs,” said DPU chair James Van Nostrand. “This is another example of the important nexus between the clean energy transition and maintaining affordability for Massachusetts residents.”

Massachusetts sets caps on how much capacity of rooftop solar can be eligible for net metering. It used to have an exemption for small systems of 10 kW or less. Now, the exemption threshold is expanded to 60 kW, meaning that almost all residential accounts and many small commercial accounts are now eligible for net metering.

Source：the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU)；PV Magazine