MA Solar Campaign Launches Third Phase of Affordable Housing Program

Boston, MA - Resonant Energy, the Boston branch of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations (MACDC) are pleased to announce the third phase of the Solar Technical Assistance Retrofit (STAR) program. The STAR program, first launched in 2021, provides technical and financial assistance to affordable housing organizations with sites in Massachusetts to catalyze the exploration of solar PV potential and break down existing barriers to adoption.

In the past two years, the STAR program has analyzed the portfolios of 31 affordable housing providers, encompassing more than 900 buildings. In the first two phases of the program, housing providers have committed to a total of 4.9 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) across 113 rooftops, which is more than 20% higher than the program’s initial goal. These projects represent nearly $11 million in lifetime savings for owners and reduce carbon emissions equivalent to taking 879 cars off the road. In the most recent phase of the program, the STAR team supported seven participating nonprofit housing owners with successful funding applications to the Department of Environmental Protection’s Gap Energy Grant Program, totalling $1.2 million in grant funding for solar and storage across the state.

The third phase of the STAR program will provide another 10 organizations with grants to perform solar feasibility studies thanks to support from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center’s (MassCEC) EmPower Massachusetts Program and the Jampart Charitable Trust. The campaign has a goal of developing an additional 3 MW of solar which will create $250,000 in annual savings for providers and $6 million over the lifetime of the systems. For one selected participant, the initiative will include the exploration of onsite battery storage as a pilot to incorporate in future iterations of the program.

In addition to selecting 10 private developers for the third phase of the program, the STAR team will also be working with the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) to analyze their portfolio’s solar PV potential and overcome the legal, financial, and technical barriers to adoption of solar PV. Successful approaches will be shared with all housing authorities in the Commonwealth.

The additional scope of work included in the Boston Housing Authority research is made possible by a generous donation from the Lauenstein Family Fund.