Massachusetts is Investing a lot of Money into Solar Projects
According to Boston.com, in Massachusetts the state has provided $68 million to people who wanted to install in their homes or business solar panels. The officials expected the program to last about 3 to 4 years but all the funds were spent by October, 22 months after the start of the program. This was a pleasant surprise for the officials of Massachusetts and they wanted to prolong the program.
Now they want to bring new funds into the program and allow many other people to install solar panels and use renewable energy. The program has to be ready by January and it is not an easy task. Philip Giudice, who is the manager of Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources says: “There are many people that want rebates and this is in our best interest.”
Last year the officials have informed the public about the program and also about the solar installers. They have worked with many companies and they involved a lot of media. The first phase of the initiative was the Commonwealth Solar. The purpose was to have nearly 250 megawatts of solar-generating capacity in the state of Massachusetts, installed by 2017. This is enough power for 37,500 homes. The surcharges utilities and electricity consumers are the ones that financed the rebates. When the project will be completed, it will generate about 29 megawatts of electricity, a lot more than it was predicted.
Because rooftops solar panels are very expensive, and they can reach about $33,500, for a single home, these rebates were the best incentive.
“This project is doable and I plan to install this 4.8 kilowatt system even in my home”, explained Joel Frisch. In Frisch’s case, the solar project will cost him $32,000. But using the state incentives and all the tax rebates, he will get out of his pocket only $12,000. He says that the period will take him to get back the investment will only be about nine years, and all that by reducing the utility costs in its own home. He is just one of the many people doing this.
