Natick Earns Bronze Award For Reducing Solar Energy Costs

NATICK, MA—SolSmart, a program funded by the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative, is awarding a bronze designation to Natick taking important first steps to reduce solar energy costs and encourage solar energy growth. Natick is the third community in the state to receive designation, according to an announcement.

That means Natick will now receive national recognition for adopting programs and practices that make it faster, easier and cheaper to go solar. To achieve designation, cities and counties take steps to reduce solar “soft costs,” which are non-hardware costs that can increase the time and money it takes to install a solar energy system, according to the release. Soft costs are such things as financing, customer acquisition, installation labor and zoning.

“Natick’s SolSmart designation is a signal that our town is ‘open for solar business’ and we are proud to receive this national recognition,” said Town Administrator Martha White in a statement. “Solar has always been a win-win for our community — it helps residents and businesses mitigate costs and support a sustainable future, and the Town is determined to continue to advocate for cost savings.”

To-date, Natick has received 285 points for a variety of actions including:

• Installing solar capacity on local facilities
• Hosting a community group-purchase solar program (Solarize Mass Natick)
• Publishing a solar permit checklist
• Eliminating excess inspections for solar
• Providing clear guidance for solar PV in historic districts
• Advocating for solar customers in state-level conversations

As a bronze designee, Natick now has the opportunity earn additional points to qualify as silver or gold. “Natick is the Home of the Champions, so achieving bronze simply isn’t good enough,” said Jillian Wilson Martin, Natick’s sustainability coordinator, in a statement. “Our intent is to take further action to reduce solar costs and to work with key stakeholders to reach gold by the end of 2017.”

To grab the gold, Natick plans to propose changes to zoning bylaws to clarify solar development rights and restrictions, draft considerations for active and passive solar in development regulations, survey area solar installers to identify opportunities for improvement, and review its solar permit fee structure against national best practices.

Photo via Town of Natick