The same week the Red Sox hit bottom, Harvard knocked one out of the park.
Last week, in the days before the deadline—the bottom of the ninth—residents signed contracts for 100 kilowatts of solar photovoltaic installations, pushing the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center's Solarize Mass/Harvard pilot project total over 300 kilowatts into the Tier IV pricing of $4 per watt.
For the third time in just over a month, participants saw costs for an average-size solar installation before tax credits drop another $2,500.
New England Breeze announced it will extend the contract signup deadline to Oct. 31 for homeowners with written proposals who want to take advantage of the new pricing.
Before Solarize Mass began last spring, there were 18 solar renewable energy installations in Harvard, said Elizabeth Youngblood, MassCEC Solarize Massachusetts project coordinator. Last week's surge will push the total to 78, once the new systems are installed.
"It has been a busy couple of weeks in the New England Breeze Solar office, meeting residents' requests by the Solarize Mass deadline. We are glad all of the effort has paid off with lower prices for everyone," said Kristen Ferguson, New England Breeze's Solarize Mass project manager.
Interest in Solarize Mass/Harvard grew as the town crested each new price tier. Beginning at $5.50 per watt, New England Breeze's final volume discount is the steepest offered in the four towns participating in Solarize Mass, and one very few people, if any, thought the fast-track, four-month-old program would reach. Based on Solar 201 presentations last June, Alteris Renewables' costs in Hatfield and Winchester start out at $5.08 per watt, discounted to $4.98 per watt for over 300 kilowatt. Munro Distributing is offering Scituate tiered prices from $5.43 per watt to $4.96 per watt.
In a phone interview, MassCEC Executive Director Patrick Cloney told the Press that Solarize Mass was exceeding expectations for participation. A principal ecomponent of the pilot project is to reduce the installer's costs, by reducing the need for customer education and marketing, and to pass the savings on to customers through lower installation prices.
Cloney said that it was still early in the pilot program, but a few takeaways are emerging. It is becoming clear that "economic motivators were a big factor in driving the demand." Another factor is how well the town and the integrator worked together.
A small team of community volunteers, including Harvard Energy Advisory Committee members Eric Broadbent and Project Coordinator Jim Elkind, Selectman Tim Clark, and Harvard Press co-publisher Worth Robbins, are working with MassCEC and New England Breeze. Town Administrator Tim Bragan, as well as members of the Conservation Commission and the Historical Commission have also helped facilitate program requirements and address individual hurdles. Cloney praised the "strong, energetic, smart, and active volunteer crew," "energetic town officials," and the "focus and attention" from New England Breeze.
Cloney also noted a difference in the business models emerging in Harvard and Hatfield. Harvard installations tend be smaller, roof-mounted, and customer-financed, while the many Hatfield systems are larger, ground-mounted, and involve third-party leasing financing.
Although the evaluation, proposal, and contracting phase is winding down, the workload is not. "The project is moving from the office to the field," said Mark Durrenberger, New England Breeze CEO, whose company began solar PV installations over the summer, in parallel with the steady stream of site evaluations. MassCEC's solar PV program requires that a solar installation be completed within one year of the project's Commonwealth Solar II grant award. Durrenberger said earlier he doesn't foresee any obstacles to meeting the 12-month deadlines. The winter weather will likely slow them down, but not stop them, he said.
No amount of price reduction can make up for insufficient sunlight, a situation Community Solar Garden advocate and CSG project coordinator Robbins found himself in. Homeowners in the shade have had to sit out the recent flurry of action, but movement toward a community solar garden proposal may bring them into the game.
"Many of us were unable to participate, because our sites didn't qualify—no southern exposure, too much shade, structural issues, wetland or historical constraints, etc.," said Robbins in an email to a growing list of people interested in a shared solar PV ground system.
Robbins is vetting a few possible sites for a large CSG array to which residents would not connect directly. National Grid would provide individual homeowners with virtual net metering.
Robbins created an online survey to gauge interest: www.surveymonkey.com/s/LW3QZZH. At press time, 39 of 50 people responding to the survey were "interested" in participating; eight "maybe."
Robbins said he encourages anyone with an interest in the CSG program to fill out the survey and to join the Harvard CSG Google Group at groups.google.com/group/harvardCSG, the primary vehicle for sharing information about CSG.
According to Robbins, the project will need to move quickly to take advantage of expiring federal grants.
"It may very well be the best opportunity for the most cost-effective solution we will see anytime soon," Robbins said. "And as the Solarize Massachusetts program showed us, the more who participate, the lower the cost will be for everyone."