Solarize Mass Announces New Communities

On Monday, Energy and Environmental Affairs Sec. Rick Sullivan joined MassCEC CEO Alicia Barton and Department of Energy Resources Commissioner Mark Sylvia to announce the 15 participating communities in the new round of Solarize Mass. The announcement was made in front of a large crowd of past and present Solarize volunteers at Atkins Farm in Amherst.

Communities taking part in this round are Adams, Amherst, Andover, Great Barrington-Egremont, Lexington-Bedford, Needham, Salem-Swampscott, Watertown, Wellfleet and Williamsburg-Whately-Chesterfield.

The first round of the 2013 Solarize Mass program proved to be phenomenal, yielding 551 signed contracts worth 3.8 megawatts of solar electricity capacity installed throughout the Commonwealth. The enthusiastic response to the first round and the interest in the second reads success for the solar industry in Massachusetts!

Solarize Mass has become a highly successful program throughout the state, pointing to the excitement around solar technology. We blew past Governor Patrick’s goal of 250 megawatts of solar capacity in May of this year, four years early. The Governor’s new ambitious goal – 1,600 MW by 2020 – is setting the stage for even more solar success.

Currently, the state has 361 megawatts of solar capacity installed – enough to power 54,093 average Massachusetts homes.