It's not just solar power projects that will benefit, though: any kind of site-generated electricity can be sold to the grid. Massachusetts has long allowed property owners to sell electricity to utilities, but capped the size of power installations at 60 kilowatts and only required utilities to pay lower wholesale rates.
This Tuesday, though, net metering becomes the norm in the Bay State. Homeowners who have solar or wind installations up to 2 megawatts in size can submit applications to sell excess energy to the grid, and pending approval, they will receive retail prices for their electricity.
Net metering is part of Massachusetts' 2008 Green Communities Act, which also requires utilities to provide energy efficiency incentives to individuals and businesses. State officials hope that electricity use - which currently increases at 1 percent annually - will begin decreasing at 1.4 percent each year once incentive programs are in place.
With more reasons to install solar power and improve efficiency, the future of green energy looks bright in Massachusetts.
