The Bay State's rebate program has been in force since January 2011 for commercial customers. Residential customers were included later that year. Since the start of the program, nearly 700 applications for solar thermal installations have been received; only one has been denied. By all accounts, Massachusetts is succeeding in encouraging property owners to use solar thermal technology for heat and hot water needs.
The beauty of the Massachusetts model is that the funding does not come directly from state coffers by way of taxes. Rather, every residential and commercial utility customer in the state pays a surcharge included on monthly bills to fund the program. The state says that the surcharge is the best way to ensure the program does not run out of money. That may not always be true if the rebates continue to see increases, but that is another story for another day.
BETTER PAYBACK
Solar thermal is not the only technology qualifying for subsidies in the state of Massachusetts. Nevertheless, according to a piece published by Solar Thermal World, one equipment supplier and installer in the state told them solar thermal is where the money is. This is true for both the customer and the installer.
The efficiency and production capacity of solar thermal far outpaces photovoltaic for space heating and hot water applications, as well as a fast return on investment. Solar thermal is a technology that pays for itself in just a couple of years, even without subsidies, making it very attractive with the generous rebates offered by the state of Massachusetts. It also requires a much smaller installation space, it is highly scalable, and it works well even on cold, cloudy and overcast days.
As for installers and distributors, the photovoltaic market is so crowded that competition is stiff and profit margins are falling. Companies focusing mainly on solar thermal are saying seeing just the opposite. The solar thermal business is very attractive at this point in the game.
SOLAR THERMAL WITH SOLAR AMERICA
It is great to see what Massachusetts is doing to encourage people to give solar thermal technology a try. Here at Solar America Solutions, we have been involved with this technology for years. In fact, our SunQuest 250 solar thermal collector panel is the best performing collector of its kind on the market today. Working at a rate of 94% efficiency, the SunQuest 250 can produce up to 35,000 BTUs per hour at a temperature in excess of 400^0 F.
A Solar America Solutions system is the perfect option for government buildings, educational institutions, hospitals, agricultural operations, manufacturing facilities, and more. We can custom design a system for your application to include solar collector panels, control units, pumps, storage tanks, and anything else you need to start saving significant amounts of money on your energy bill.
Solar thermal is the renewable energy source of the future. The state of Massachusetts understands that, providing businesses and residential customers with incentives to convert. We hope that other states will learn from their example. In the meantime, we encourage you to consider embracing solar thermal no matter where you are in the United States. Solar America Solutions would be happy to work with your business or government agency to implement solar thermal for your space heating and hot water needs.
Sources:
1. Solar Thermal World - http://solarthermalworld.org/content/usa-solar-thermal-focus-against-mainstream
