Massachusetts SMART Program

The Massachusetts SMART Program is a performance incentive tracked in the federal DSIRE database as one of Massachusetts's solar policy levers. Eligibility is scoped to residential customers, with a stated benefit of $0.05-$0.30/kWh for 10 years. The program does not carry a scheduled sunset in DSIRE, though appropriations and enabling legislation can still be revised year to year. Like every state-level incentive, it is designed to stack on top of the federal 30% Investment Tax Credit rather than replace it.

Layered onto Massachusetts's underlying economics, this matters more than it might look in isolation. The state averages 4.2 kWh/m²/day of usable sunlight and residential rates of 27.5¢/kWh, producing an estimated 7,358 kWh/year and $2,023 in annual utility offset on a typical 6kW system costing $18,600. Without incentives that baseline already implies a 9.2-year simple payback — every dollar this performance incentive delivers compresses that payback further and improves 25-year net returns, currently modeled at roughly $31,975 before accounting for the Massachusetts SMART Program itself.

This program is not the only option. Massachusetts has 5 solar incentive programs indexed in DSIRE, including adjacent options like MA Solar Energy Property Tax Exemption, MA Net Metering, Commonwealth Solar Rebate. The state's net metering policy is classified as full, which governs how excess generation is credited and often determines whether a given program is worth claiming for a specific household. Before applying, verify current terms on the official program page, confirm your utility participates, and consult a qualified tax professional about how state credits interact with the federal ITC on your return.