State seeks path for solar through shadows cast by federal shift

BOSTON (SHNS) – As state officials prepare for the impact of expiring federal clean energy tax credits on top of the Trump administration’s opposition to offshore wind, a panel on Tuesday probed strategies for accelerating the rollout of residential solar power and reducing administrative red tape.

The 30% federal tax credit that Massachusetts homeowners can claim for installing rooftop solar panels will expire at the end of the year due a change within the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Senate Majority Leader Cindy Creem said as she kicked off a Senate Committee on Climate Change and Global Warming meeting.

Solar power systems that are owned by third parties and leased to homeowners can still qualify for a federal tax credit through 2027, and utility-scale solar projects must also be up and running by the end of 2027 to receive a federal tax credit, Creem said.

“That means there is an urgency for (the) Massachusetts solar industry for the next 26 months and maybe beyond,” Creem said. The Newton Democrat added, “Solar is already the easiest energy source to add to our grid, and we can make it even easier.”

The 30% tax credit has saved the average family $8,000 on solar installation costs, said Hannah Birnbaum, chief of advocacy at the nonprofit Permit Power.

“The recent federal tax and spending legislation, H.R. 1, repealed the tax credit, and as a result, residential solar installs in Massachusetts are projected to drop by nearly 20% in 2026 alone,” Birnbaum said. “In other words, rooftop solar and the bill savings it brings will be out of reach for many more Massachusetts families just when it is most needed.”

In 2008, Massachusetts had installed three megawatts of solar energy. By the end of last year, the commonwealth posted 3.5 gigawatts of solar energy, said Elizabeth Mahony, commissioner of the Department of Energy Resources. One gigawatt is equivalent to 1,000 megawatts.

During the June heatwave, Massachusetts experienced its largest electrical load since the mid-2000s, Mahony said.

“We watched as solar became the backbone of the ISO New England, providing over five GW of energy to keep our lights on and air conditioning humming,” the commissioner said. “We believe that solar will continue to show up and will continue to save the grid and our rates.”

The Healey administration and legislative Democrats have long viewed offshore wind as key to the state’s clean energy transition. President Donald Trump has moved to halt offshore wind projects, including those in Massachusetts, and canceled hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding.

The shifting federal dynamic and skyrocketing electricity bills have prompted Gov. Maura Healey to pursue other energy sources, including nuclear. Healey last month also hosted a solar summit, where the governor said she wants Massachusetts to regain its leadership status for solar installation.

Healey’s energy affordability bill contains a provision to upgrade the interconnection process, which her administration said is aimed at cutting the time and costs for customers connecting new loads, solar and storage projects to the grid.

Mahony said accelerating “flexible interconnection” would be a “significant step in the next two years to unlocking a lot of capacity.”

Attorney General Andrea Campbell joined a multistate lawsuit last week against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for ending the $7 billion Solar for All program, which Campbell’s office said delivered solar energy to more than 900,000 low-income and disadvantaged communities nationwide.

Mahony said state officials had worked hard and were poised to launch a “great program” with the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and the Boston Housing Authority.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the agency lost its ability to administer the Solar for All program to align with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

“[W]hile this program was stood up in 2024, very little money has actually been spent,” Zeldin said in video remarks. “Recipients are still very much in the early planning phase, not the building and construction process. But the bottom line again is this: EPA no longer has the authority to administer the program or the appropriated funds to keep this boondoggle alive.”

DOER last week opened applications for the latest iteration of its solar incentive program, called Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target 3.0.

Officials are making 900 MW of capacity available, and the program is expected to slash electricity costs by $300 million next year, the Healey administration said. The program offers a “flat incentive rate” for residential consumers and “enhanced” incentives for low-income households, as well as consumer protections to ensure fair contracts with solar installers, the administration said.

At the hearing, solar energy advocates and professionals encouraged lawmakers to explore automated permitting and inspections to boost residential solar uptake. Officials are working on regulations tied to siting and permitting reforms – including consolidating and accelerated permit reviews — under the 2024 clean energy law.

Birnbaum, of Permit Power, told the committee the commonwealth has “fragmented, unpredictable and onerous requirements for permitting rooftop solar systems.” Forty percent of Massachusetts jurisdictions do not offer this permitting online, she said, based on data from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

“The solution to this is smart permitting — software that performs the necessary plan review and issues permits for home solar projects instantly,” Birnbaum said. “Permit Power’s modeling shows that, if adopted statewide, smart permitting has the potential to reduce the cost of a typical solar install in Massachusetts by $5,500 and could result in nearly 120,000 more installs over the next 15 years than would otherwise occur post-H.R.1.”

California, Maryland, Texas and Florida have smart solar permitting laws, and a pending bill is awaiting action from New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, according to Birnbaum.

She also promoted remote inspections, arguing the approach could save households time and allow them to take advantage of their solar panels sooner. Under the current inspection arrangement, inspectors may need to come and check out the project multiple times.

“We strongly support requiring jurisdictions to provide the option for a single remote inspection for home solar and batteries via both photo or recorded video,” Birnbaum said. “In addition to reducing cost and delays, remote inspections increase safety. Many inspectors don’t climb on the roof when they conduct an in-person inspection. The inspectors also can more easily seek input from managers when they’re reviewing the footage or photos from a remote inspection. And remote inspections create a photo or video record of the system.”

Matthew McAllister, CEO of SolarAPP that automates the permitting process for local and state governments, is working to launch its platform in Boston by the end of the year. The technology is used in more than 320 jurisdictions across 17 states, and it handles 8% of all solar permits nationally, he said.

“This is like a Chrome extension on your browser that you add on, and it’s super simple to automate, like a very specific permit type and category,” McAllister said. He added, “We’re seeing a huge jump in adoption and utilization across all of our partners, and our current average time savings is three weeks faster than the traditional permitting.”

McAllister said the homeowner experience with the app is “phenomenal,” as it eliminates long wait periods.

Sen. Mike Barrett said automated permitting comes with a “kind of intuitive appeal” that is “easy to grasp.” But he voiced concern over allowing remote inspections, questioning whether they could include the same scrutiny as on-site reviews.

Remote inspections skyrocketed during the pandemic and are now common, McAllister said. For now, they’re typically done over FaceTime or another video call platform. While the setup can bring some technology issues surrounding high-resolution images, McAllister said professionals are “particularly optimistic about building in this direction.”

“With all of the tools that AI affords, there’s this level of, could we provide additional checks and reviews in a way that’s actually really hard to do as the inspector, even if you’re on site,” McAllister said.

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