Installing a solar electric system, also called a solar photovoltaic (PV) system, can be a great way to save money on your electric bills and transition to a clean energy home, but the process can feel overwhelming. Up through 2025, Massachusetts already had enough solar electricity supply to power nearly 948,000 homes. This is because thousands of residents have successfully purchased, leased, or subscribed to solar electricity and you can too! We’ve put together a guide to help you understand commonly used solar vocabulary and to enable you to make educated choices when it comes to solar power.
Plug into the facts before you plug into the sun!
1. Your Solar Power Choices
There are many ways to implement a solar electric energy system for your home.
Some residents choose “direct ownership” by buying and owning a solar system on their property. This model provides long-term financial benefits, because you retain sole ownership over the energy, environmental incentives, and tax credits associated with your system. Direct ownership is financed by cash, a loan, or line of credit.
Other homeowners choose a “third-party ownership” model. In this type of arrangement, a third party (often a solar company or specialty financing firm) installs, owns, and maintains the system on your home, allowing you to use the electricity produced by the system. You will pay a monthly fee to the third-party owner for the length of your contract term. Third-party ownership is a good option for residents who can’t or prefer not to pay upfront for a solar energy system, but in this case, instead of the homeowner, the third-party will benefit from financial incentives like tax credits.
There are two types of third-party ownership: solar leases and power purchase agreements. Both allow you to use the electricity your system produces, which reduces your utility electric bill. Both models also provide financial benefits like tax credits and production-based incentives, but only to the third-party owner – not the homeowner. The key difference between leases and PPAs pertains to the monthly payments made to the third-party owner:
- With a solar lease, your monthly payments will be fixed over time (often with a small annual payment escalator), independent of how much energy your solar system produces each month.
- With a power purchase agreement (PPA), your monthly payment will be based on how many kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity your solar system produces each month, at a per-kWh rate defined in your contract. In other words, instead of leasing the system itself, you agree to buy the electricity it generates at a set price per kilowatt-hour. This means that you only pay for the energy you receive.
To learn more about each ownership option’s costs and benefits, review this Ownership and Financing Options table and CESA’s Homeowner's Guide to Solar Financing. The Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General also has a helpful table so you can consider which solar option is best for you.
Regardless of which solar option you choose, installing a system at your home means you have a suitable project site with enough exposure to sunlight. If your home is not a good fit for a solar installation, you may be interested in exploring Community Solar. Community Solar allows residents to “subscribe” to a community solar project (a large, offsite solar array) or buy a portion of the panels in that project. In return, you can receive net metering credits or offsets towards your electric bill. Community solar enables households that can’t put panels on their homes to still benefit from solar energy, while avoiding the upfront costs associated with a home installation. This is especially popular with renters. To explore community solar projects, review this article on How to Find a Community Solar Project in Massachusetts. You may also find EnergySage’s Community Solar Marketplace helpful for finding projects in your area.
2. Get to Know the Incentives
In Massachusetts, you can benefit from a range of solar incentives, including federal and state tax credits, net metering, the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) program, and rebates in some areas served by Municipal Light Plants. Taking advantage of these programs can help you lower the cost of your system or, in the case of SMART, earn revenue from it over time.
Tax Credits
Tax credits can help minimize the upfront cost of acquiring a solar system, if you plan to purchase and own the system yourself. To learn about available tax credits, which include a personal income state tax credit of 15% of your solar system’s cost up to $1,000, visit the Incentives, Ownerships Options and Financing page. Talk to your tax advisor regarding your eligibility for tax credits or visit the DSIRE website for more information.
Keep in mind that only the system owner can redeem state tax credits for solar. If you are pursuing a lease or PPA, your third-party lessor or solar provider will claim the credit, not you. The cost savings enabled by the credit may factor into your lease or PPA payments.
Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART)
The primary solar incentive in the state is the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) program, which is an earn-as-you-produce incentive program. Through this program, investor-owned utilities in Massachusetts (Eversource, National Grid, and Unitil) directly compensate solar electric system owners for the solar electricity produced by their panels. This means that, over time, participation in the program can help solar customers recoup their initial investment in the system. SMART 3.0 – the newest version of the program – launched in October 2025 with a new program structure, designed to address declining incentive rates and increase consumer protections. To learn more about SMART and how to apply, review the SMART 3.0 Section of Mass.gov.
Towns served by Municipal Light Plants (MLPs) are not eligible for SMART, but they may have other incentives and rebates. Not sure if your community is served by a Municipal Light Plant? Visit this list of towns and cities served by MLPs, and if your community is on the list, search your MLP’s website for solar incentives.
Net Metering
If you are a customer of a regulated utility – Eversource, National Grid, or Unitil – you may benefit from net metering. Net metering is a billing mechanism that credits solar electric system owners for the electricity they add to the grid. When you have solar, you can use the energy created by your system to help power your home – this reduces your electricity bill from the outset, because you are using less energy from your utility than you usually would. Net metering provides an additional benefit – in months where your system produces more energy than you use, the utility will credit the value of that overproduction to your bill to be carried forward for use during future billing cycles. Over the course of your home’s monthly electricity billing cycle, you will only end up paying for the net electricity that your home consumes from the grid.
The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) has a guide to help you understand net metering, and EnergySage has a video explaining the process:
3. Explore Financing Options
In addition to the above incentives, you may want to explore financing options to help cover any upfront costs. Refer to our Incentives, Ownership Options and Financing page and CESA’s Homeowner’s Guide to Solar Financing for general information on financing options for solar, such as loans or leases. You may want to connect with your personal bank or credit union to see if they offer solar loans or have a different financing product that could work to support a solar project. Once you select a solar installer, they may also be able to connect you with financing partners.
In addition to traditional options to enable direct ownership, like home equity lines of credit, home equity loans, or financing directly through your solar installer, there are some unique programs that can make energy upgrades more affordable. For example:
- Energy Saver Home Loan (Massachusetts Community Climate Bank): This program offers low- to no-interest loans for Massachusetts residents with low- or moderate-incomes. It can help pay for a range of home energy improvements, which may include rooftop solar, as long as the upgrades collectively reduce your home’s overall energy use by at least 20%.
- Mass Save HEAT Loan: This program provides 0% interest financing for certain energy efficiency home upgrades. While it does not cover solar panels, it does include battery storage systems that can work with solar.
Consult our FAQ for other solar financing and loan programs. Note that programs and availability change over time – check to make sure that the program you want to use is still running at the time of your project.
4. Find and Select an Installer
If you choose to install solar panels on your home, one of the biggest steps in your journey will be selecting a company to install the panels on your home. While this process may initially seem overwhelming, there are some tools to make it easier.
First, you can find solar installers near you on our Installer page, which allows you to search by zip code. Keep in mind, this is not a complete list of installers in Massachusetts, but rather a collection of installers that chose to be listed on the site. You can also view a list of installers that have recently completed projects near you through our Solar Cost Comparison Tool, which can be sorted by installer.
After you have found local installers, the next step is selection. When choosing between installers, you may find our Tips for Finding and Selecting a Solar Installer and Checklist and Installer Questions articles helpful. Keep in mind that MassCEC always recommends getting quotes from multiple installers to help you best consider available options and pricing for your system. EnergySage has an online marketplace where you can request and compare quotes from multiple installers.
5. Complete the Installation Process
Once you have signed a contract with an installer, they will guide you through the installation process, from creating an initial system design to successfully connecting to the grid. To learn more about the installation journey, review our article on What to Expect from the Solar Installation Process.
If you want to participate in SMART, make sure your installer applies on your behalf. Your installer may also be able to answer questions about additional incentive programs.
6. Enjoy Your Clean Electricity
After your system has gone through the required inspections and is connected to the grid, you are ready to reap the benefits of solar energy!
This includes any savings on your electric bill or incentive payments from programs such as net metering and SMART. If you’re eligible, your installer will handle the required paperwork so you can begin receiving SMART incentives. Once the SMART process is finalized—typically within about three months—you should start to see monthly incentive payments from your utility.
Now that your panels are soaking up the sun, you can take pride knowing that you’re saving money on your power bill, claiming your energy independence, and contributing to a brighter future for yourself and all of Massachusetts. You’ve done the hard part – now let the sun do the rest.
Interested in other clean energy solutions for your home? Go to our website Clean Energy Lives Here!