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May 7, 2015

Beaton: Solar debate cannot be kicked down the road

SAM BONACCI Massachusetts Secretary of the Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Matthew Beaton addresses solar industry officials and interested parties during the Worcester Business Journal's Power Breakfast Series on Solar Thursday morning.

In front of a room full of solar industry officials, Massachusetts Secretary of the Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Matthew Beaton said Thursday that the state cannot “kick the can” down the road by simply raising the amount of solar that utility companies are required to incorporate into the electrical grid, but must come up with long-term solutions that take into account the ratepayers as well.

“While we recognize the need to raise the cap, in an ideal world we cannot work fast enough with the legislature to develop a long-term solution to this problem that doesn’t have us returning year after year to simply raise the cap,” Beaton said at the Worcester Business Journal’s Power Breakfast Series on Solar. “Nothing is completely off the table but we are leaning toward finding a long-term solution before having to raise the cap on any one project area.”

Beaton spoke in response to the Net Metering and Solar Task Force report released this week that was split on a recommendation of whether to raise the net metering caps that limit the amount of excess solar power utilities are required to buy back and put into the grid. The part of the state serviced by National Grid has already met its cap, halting projects other than residential ones under 25 MegaWatts (MW) in that area, but the Eversource-serviced portion of the state still has room for more programs.

“I recognize the urgency of moving quickly on this matter,” Beaton said, explaining that his team has not had time to come up with a plan in light of the recently released report. “Any future incentives must be at the appropriate levels to continue driving the solar industry forward while also ensuring that the ratepayers who fund the programs are not paying more than is necessary to reach our solar installation goals.”

Any increase to the solar net metering program must be accompanied by changes to the incentive program, he said. The Baker administration is committed to meeting the goal of 1,600 MW by 2020, and the state reached 841 MW of installed solar last month, Beaton said. Projects that have been completed will be grandfathered in, he said, but new provisions will have to be made to continue to drive the market to deliver power in the most cost-effective way possible.

“Our main goal is to bring predictability and stability to the market … and to continue to provide the right amount of incentives,” Beaton said.

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