Boston Surges Forward With Renewable Energy Initiatives
Boston, Massachusetts has found itself in the fortunate position of being on the leading cusp of a movement that has been sweeping the country for nearly a decade. Only in the past few years, however, has such momentum toward the use of solar and renewable energy sources become attractive to homeowners and businesses as they begin to work in conjunction with local and state governments.
This current renewable energy movement has had the full backing and support from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts due to the Solar Massachusetts program and help from some federal programs designed to pour money into such programs as well as to provide tax credits and benefits to participating businesses and residents.
The Solar Massachusetts program has been designed to assist Boston residents and business owners to join in the renewable energy endeavor by providing financial assistance to those Boston residents and business owners who decide to convert their energy resources to solar power and away from the traditional pollutants such as coal and oil. As a renewable energy source, wind power from windmill turbines remains in its infancy so solar power continues to be the solid option for Boston, and much of the country, for the foreseeable future.
Currently, the solar arrays that are constructed are mainly large panels of glass that are positioned and attached to rooftops around the city be they on private residences or at business locations. The glass panels can also be located in open areas where many dozens can be erected in an ongoing effort to collect the sun’s energy so that it can be converted and stored as electricity.
The Solar Massachusetts project, along with the American Recovery Act launched by the federal government has provided the financial resources to allow these government entities to assist with individual funding to homeowners and businesses in and around greater Boston. Even Boston mayor Thomas Menino finds himself and his family supporting renewable energy as he is placing solar panels atop of his own suburban home.
Currently, Massachusetts in general, and Boston in particular, pays the highest rates for electricity at over 15 cents per kilowatt hour with the national average for electricity costs coming in at just over 11 cents per kilowatt hour. However, projections have shown that solar power installations will bring Boston residents and business owners well within striking distance of the 11 cents per kilowatt hour. This would be a substantial savings for the renewable energy Boston participants.
Included in the initiatives are tax breaks and credits to individual and businesses as well as energy rebates in the form of Solar Renewable Energy Boston Credits. These credits can be used when residents or businesses sell back their unused or stored electricity to the local utility companies. In Massachusetts, the utility and power companies are required to produce a certain amount of power from renewable alternatives. When they fail to do so, they must go out and purchase the energy from those Solar Massachusetts participants with the energy to sell.
It seems that both for the short and the long run a renewable energy initiative has proven itself a valuable resource not only for the participants but for the ecosystem as well.
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