Emergency Regulations
On June 20th, 2025, DOER filed emergency regulations for the SMART 3.0 Program with the Secretary of State's Office, under 225 CMR 28.00. DOER also filed minor changes to the existing regulation, 225 CMR 20.00, to accommodate for the program transition and create an end date for eligibility under the current program.
DOER created a Frequently Asked Questions document to provide clarifications on the regulations and the process for transitioning between programs. This document may be updated during the rulemaking period with additional clarifications as needed.
As the regulations were filed as emergency, they will have an effective date of June 20th, 2025. But DOER will accept public comment on both regulations and can make revisions in response to feedback during the three-month rulemaking period. DOER will accept written comments on both draft regulations until 5:00 pm on July 25th, 2025. Given the emergency filing and expedited rulemaking schedule, DOER requests that stakeholders submit their public comments as soon as possible to ensure all feedback is sufficiently captured. Written comments should be submitted as attached pdf files to DOER.SMART@mass.gov, with the words “SMART 3.0 Public Comment” in the subject line. Alternatively, comments can be submitted via mail to Grace Fletcher at the Department of Energy Resources, 100 Cambridge Street, 9th Floor, Boston, MA 02114.
DOER will also conduct three public hearings to receive comments on the regulations. Below is the schedule and links to register:
Summary of Proposed Regulations
DOER is modifying its solar incentive program. Here are the major changes:
Structure
Implementing an Annual Assessment that will be used to set annual program capacity and incentive rates. The Annual Assessment will incorporate a survey to program participants and consider:
- Progress toward greenhouse gas emissions limits
- Program participation rates
- Ratepayer impacts
- Regional/national solar costs
- Solar material & development costs
- Land use and environmental protection goals
Annual Assessment Metrics
- Annual Capacity (MW)
- Capacity Allocation between EDCs
- Capacity Set Asides
- Base Compensation Rates
- Compensation Rate Adders
- Flat Incentive Rate for <25 kW
Incentive Levels and Available Capacity
Incentive levels will be set annually and based on project size:
| Generation Unit Capacity | Program Year Base Compensation Rate ($/kWh) |
|---|---|
| 25 kW AC to 250 kW AC | 0.2821 |
| 250 kW AC to 500 kW AC | 0.2482 |
| 500 kW AC to 1,000 kW AC | 0.2113 |
| 1,000 kW AC to 5,000 kW AC | 0.1729 |
Under 25 kW projects will have a fixed incentive level of $0.03 per kWh. Under 25 kW projects serving low-income customers will receive an increased incentive of $0.06/kWh.
The available capacity for a given Program Year will also be set annually. Program Year 2025 will have 450 MW available. Projects under 25 kW and behind-the-meter projects under 250 kW will not be subject to capacity caps.
Adders
Adder values will be set annually following the Annual Assessment:
| Adder Type | Project Type | Year 1 Adder Value ($/kWh) |
|---|---|---|
Location Based | Building Mounted | 0.03 |
| Large Building Mounted* | 0.04 | |
| Brownfield | 0.03 | |
| Landfill | 0.06 | |
| Canopy | 0.08 | |
| Agricultural | 0.08 | |
| Floating | 0.03 | |
| Off- taker Based | Community Shared | 0.07 |
| Low Income Property | 0.04 | |
| Public Entity | 0.04 | |
| Others | Energy Storage** | Variable |
| Solar Tracking | 0.01 | |
| Pollinator | 0.0025 |
*Available to building mounted projects over 1 MW
**Projects under 25 kW will not be eligible to receive an energy storage adder. Projects over 1 MW are required to pair with energy storage.
Land Use
Ground-mounted projects >250 kW AC are ineligible for SMART incentives if their footprint overlaps with any of the following:
- Biomap core habitat
- Top 20% (across MA) potential carbon emissions plus foregone sequestration through 2070
- Other applicable state & nationally protected lands including protected open space, wetland resource areas, and properties included in the state register
Eligible ground-mounted projects not sited on previously developed land will be subject to:
- On-site visitation from an external Environmental Monitor contracted by DOER
- Updated performance standards
- Mitigation Fee
- Eligible projects will pay a fee based on the impact of their development
- Mitigation fee calculation is informed by weighted criteria related to environmental impacts and policy goals:
Funds will be directed to a trust account to support conservation, ecosystem and biodiversity programs. DOER intends to annually review data sources, criteria, and weightings to reflect policy goals.
Equity and Consumer Protection
Community Shared Solar (CSS)
- All CSS projects must enroll a minimum of 40% Low-Income Customers
- Projects may still have one or two anchor offtakers (up to 50% of energy output)
- Alternative CSS projects (e.g. utility, muni agg) must enroll 100% Low-Income Customers
- Guaranteeing meaningful benefits to CSS customers
- Market-rate residents: minimum 10% discount (relative to basic service or municipal aggregation)
- Low-income residents: minimum 20% discount
Low Income
- The Low Income adder has been expanded to additional types of housing/facilities, as well as systems that provide 100% of output to qualified affordable housing properties
- Low-income customers may qualify based on other needs-based programs or through self-attestation
Residential Third-Party Owned
- Minimum per kWh savings of 10% of basic service on first year of solar contract
- Maximum rate escalator of 3% per year