With report, group asks Baker to support solar goal
Even if the rate of growth in the Bay State's solar industry tapers, the state could derive 20 percent of its electricity from the sun by 2025, according to an Environment Massachusetts report released Thursday. To emphasize the potential of solar energy, the report said the state could produce twice as much electricity from solar as all the electricity consumed in the state, although that would require a full solar build-out on roofs around the state and the use of large acreages for solar installations. The report is aimed at convincing Governor-elect Charlie Baker to prioritize the goal of 20 percent solar by 2025.
The group is holding a conference call at 11 a.m. with participants from the city of Cambridge, RePower Partners and the Sierra Club. According to the report, solar in Massachusetts increased 127 percent per year from 2010 to 2013, and if solar installations increase at 30 percent annually, one-fifth of the state's electricity could come from solar a decade from now.
The cost of solar is dropping, and initiatives such as building battery capacity and creating a more "intelligent" grid could aid the goal of becoming more reliant on solar, according to the report, which said solar is already a cheaper form of electricity in Germany, Italy and Spain, and the cost-per-watt in Germany is half what it costs in the United States.
"Soft" costs, such as "attracting customers, installing the systems, completing paperwork, and paying taxes and permitting fees" account for much of the difference, the report said.
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