MA Photo voltaic Marketing campaign Launches Third Part of Inexpensive Housing Program

Boston, MA – Resonant Vitality, the Boston department of the Native Initiatives Help
Company (LISC), and the Massachusetts Affiliation of Neighborhood Growth
Firms (MACDC) introduced the third part of the Photo voltaic Technical Help Retrofit (STAR) program.

The STAR program, first launched in 2021, offers technical and monetary help to reasonably priced housing organizations with websites in Massachusetts to catalyze the exploration of photo voltaic PV potential and break down present boundaries to adoption.

Previously two years, the STAR program has analyzed the portfolios of 31 reasonably priced housing suppliers, encompassing greater than 900 buildings. Within the first two phases of the
program, housing suppliers have dedicated to a complete of 4.9 MW of photo voltaic photovoltaic (PV)
throughout 113 rooftops, which is greater than 20% increased than this system’s preliminary aim. These
tasks signify almost $11 million in lifetime financial savings for house owners and cut back carbon
emissions equal to taking 879 vehicles off of the highway. In the latest part of the
program, the STAR workforce supported seven taking part nonprofit housing house owners with
profitable funding purposes to the Division of Environmental Safety’s Hole Vitality Grant Program, totalling $1.2 million in grant funding for photo voltaic and storage throughout the state.

The third part of the STAR program will present one other 10 organizations with grants to
carry out photo voltaic feasibility research due to help from the Massachusetts Clear Vitality
Heart’s (MassCEC) EmPower Massachusetts Program and the Jampart Charitable Belief. The marketing campaign has a aim of creating an extra 3 MW of photo voltaic which is able to create $250,000 in annual financial savings for suppliers and $6 million over the lifetime of the techniques. For one chosen participant, the initiative will embrace the exploration of onsite battery storage as a pilot to include in future iterations of this system.

Along with choosing 10 personal builders for the third part of this system, the
STAR workforce may also be working with the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) to investigate their
portfolio’s photo voltaic PV potential and overcome the authorized, monetary, and technical boundaries to
adoption of photo voltaic PV. Profitable approaches might be shared with all housing authorities within the Commonwealth.

“Deploying photo voltaic vitality is crucial to fulfill the Boston Housing Authority’s targets
for shifting to all-electric, wholesome, sustainable buildings,” mentioned BHA Chief of Employees Joel Wool.
“Producing clear energy at house will put public housing tenants on the forefront of the vitality transition.”

The extra scope of labor included within the Boston Housing Authority analysis is
made attainable by a beneficiant donation from the Lauenstein Household Fund.

This 12 months’s program kicks off with turbo-charged incentives from the Inflation Discount
Act (IRA), handed in the summertime of 2022, which reversed course on prior photo voltaic coverage that was phasing out the federal funding tax credit score for photo voltaic PV. On the time the coverage handed, the funding tax credit score worth was set at 26% of the price of a photo voltaic undertaking. The coverage now institutes a 30% funding tax credit score worth as a baseline for 10 years and permits for an funding tax credit score worth of as much as 70% based mostly on undertaking traits, with most reasonably priced housing developments being eligible for a minimum of 40-50%. Considerably, the coverage creates choices for nonprofits and public entities to obtain money in lieu of a tax credit score for the primary time for the reason that 1603 Grant program (energetic 2009 – 2012) by way of the brand new coverage’s “direct pay” provision.

“The Treasury has been directed to concern the ultimate particulars of the Inflation Discount Act in
February 2023,” mentioned Isaac Baker, Co-CEO of Resonant Vitality. “We’ve got already seen a dramatic uptick in curiosity in photo voltaic PV and anticipate curiosity to spike even additional as the ultimate guidelines come out and implementation begins. The financial savings estimates we’ll make within the coming 12 months will doubtless almost double something we’ve seen in prior years.”

As the appliance interval for the third part of this system kicks off, among the first
tasks from Part 1 have been put in and are starting to supply energy. Greater than a
dozen Part 1 tasks are scheduled for building this spring.

One of many massive challenges that has made including photo voltaic troublesome for reasonably priced housing
builders up to now is coordinating the assessment and consent course of with the entire lenders and traders affiliated with their websites. The marketing campaign organizers have been working with these events to assist streamline this course of and have constructed further staffing time into the method to assist alleviate this burden on builders hoping to take the subsequent step towards clear vitality.

Housing suppliers enthusiastic about taking part in Part 3 can apply right here by February 28,
2023. The STAR workforce might be holding workplace hours on February 14 from 3-4 pm for suppliers to ask questions on this system.

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