Huge Solar Potential

Source: Union of Concerned Scientists

How We Unlock the Huge Solar Potential in Massachusetts’ Environmental Justice Communities

Massachusetts has tremendous solar potential in environmental justice neighborhoods: enough to power all of the Commonwealth’s nearly three million homes. Activating this resource is key to fulfilling the state’s decarbonization and affordability goals.

This is particularly vital as energy costs have become an everyday point of discussion for Massachusetts families, businesses, and policymakers. High prices during one of the coldest winters in years forced too many families to keep their homes at unsafe temperatures. A brutal blizzard left hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts households in the dark for days. And now, gas and oil prices are soaring due to the US-Israeli war against Iran. These events all underscore the same challenge: Our energy system requires immediate attention so that the decisions being made have a real impact on the affordability, resilience, and reliability of our electric grid—now and for the future.

It is no surprise that in the energy affordability bill within the Massachusetts State House, and Governor Maura Healey’s recent executive order targeting energy supply, solar energy is raised as a key solution to help the state cover its increasingly high energy needs while making the cost of electricity more affordable. As these discussions evolve, it’s vital to remember not just the value proposition of distributed energy resources such as rooftop solar and battery storage, but also the importance of ensuring its benefits reach everyone in the commonwealth, especially underserved communities where these investments have the greatest impact on both affordability and resilience.

A new report from Applied Economics Clinic (AEC), commissioned by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and its partners Clean Energy Group and Vote Solar, offers key insights to help inform state efforts to unlock its vast solar and storage potential in environmental justice (EJ) neighborhoods—where people of color, low-income people, and limited-English proficient speakers live. Electrification with Equity IIestimates the technical potential of behind-the-meter (BTM) solar and solar paired with storage in EJ neighborhoods, looks at housing conditions to better tailor programs that enable adoption for end users, maps the overlap with extreme heat and energy burden data, and offers insight on the barriers and their solutions to scale up deployment in and for EJ communities. It is a companion to another new report from AEC that looks at solar and storage issues and opportunities in Massachusetts more broadly. This report was developed in collaboration with an advisory committee bringing perspectives from different sectors—including environmental justice organizations, affordable housing, and clean energy developers—to reflect on-the-ground experiences and priorities for EJ neighborhoods.

Solar and Storage Potential in EJ Neighborhoods

EJ neighborhoods across the Commonwealth have an enormous BTM solar potential. Building on DOER’s 2023 Technical Potential for Solar study and using the 2023 U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, AEC estimates that the technical potential of BTM solar in Massachusetts EJ neighborhoods is 31 gigawatts (GW) of solar, enough to power all of the state’s almost 3 million homes. The potential for BTM storage paired with solar is estimated to be 13 GW.

Activating this resource is key to fulfill the state’s decarbonization and affordability goals. Peak electricity demand in Massachusetts is predicted to reach 24 GW by 2050, double the 2020 peak of 12 GW. This means that the technical potential for new BTM solar and BTM solar paired with storage (simplified as “BTM solar and storage” in this blog) in EJ neighborhoods is greater than the expected increase in peak demand. Despite the overall success of the SMART program at facilitating the growth of solar and storage, data shows that just 1% of the program’s allocated solar capacity is located on low-income properties. 

The Commonwealth is heavily dependent on fossil gas (also known as natural gas), which provides more than 65% of in-state net electricity generation. Covering increases in peak demand with clean generation is crucial given that more than 80% of polluting power plants—with their associated health risks—are located in or within a mile of EJ neighborhoods.

In addition, not only do BTM solar and storage adopters save directly on their bills, but these cost saving benefits flow to all ratepayers because these resources help with lowering peak demand. Addressing the peaks minimizes the need for expensive transmission and distribution investments and reduces wholesale electricity prices.In fact, during a 100^oF peak event in June 2025, a study from Acadia Center found, BTM solar saved New England consumers at least $8.2 million on one of the most expensive days of the year for the grid. Those savings are particularly impressive considering how small the BTM solar deployment is across Massachusetts, and makes actualizing the full potential even more appealing.

Access to BTM solar can lower bills alleviating the energy burden of households.

The average energy burden—the percentage of a household income that goes into paying for energy—in Massachusetts is about 3%. It rises to 10% for low-income populations, and, as high as 31% in certain neighborhoods. When looking at EJ neighborhoods facing higher than that statewide average energy burden, this study finds a technical potential of 11.4 GW of solar paired with 4.9 GW of storage. A 2024 study from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) shows that rooftop solar reduced the median 2021 energy burden for low-income adopters from 7.7% to 6.2%, pointing to the value that BTM solar can provide in alleviating energy costs for those that need them the most.

BTM solar and storage can advance energy security and support communities’ energy resilience. EJ communities are more likely to live in dense urban areas and neighborhoods that lack green spaces, exposing them to the urban heat island effect. These communities are also more likely to live in places with inefficient heating and cooling systems, costing these households more in energy. For this study, AEC finds that more than 90% of Massachusetts’ total BTM solar and storage potential in EJ neighborhoods is within a hot spot area, underscoring the value that deploying solar in these areas can bring.

A 2025 Berkeley Lab study found that low-to-moderate income households generating 80-100% of their electricity needs with rooftop solar leads to significant reductions in energy bills. This can translate into households being able to keep their homes at comfortable temperatures, especially when facing extreme heat. Access to BTM solar and storage can also provide backup power during grid disruptions, including for resilience hubs in community buildings and shelters bringing cooling and other essential services during outages.

Barriers to unlocking this solar potential

Although the Commonwealth offers a suite of energy, climate and housing programs, the BTM solar and storage potential in EJ neighborhoods remains largely untapped.

The study found the main barriers for deployment, include financial challenges, technical issues, workforce roadblocks, market conditions, and program coordination. Lack of incentives for renters and condo owners requires special attention, as only a third of BTM technical potential in EJ neighborhoods is located in single family homes.

The state has clear energy targets and procurement requirements for specific technologies such as offshore wind, but there is no specific carve out for BTM resources including solar and storage. Likewise, most clean energy programs lack equity participation targets or incentives hindering the flow of benefits to those that need them the most.