Civic leaders ask Gov. Healey to install 1 million solar roofs

BOSTON – During her gubernatorial campaign, Maura Healey expressed support for installing 10 gigawatts of solar – the equivalent of 1 million solar roofs – by 2030. Now, over a year into her tenure, leaders from across the Commonwealth are asking Gov. Healey to affirm her commitment and work to accelerate the growth of solar energy. 

“Solar power is clean, local, and abundant and is already playing a leading role in Massachusetts’ transition away from dirty energy sources,” said Johanna Neumann, Acting Director of Environment Massachusetts. “Gov. Healey’s leadership in setting an ambitious yet achievable goal of 1 million solar roofs by 2030 will help turbocharge solar in Massachusetts.” 

The letter, signed by 20 environmental, health, and business leaders, as well as local elected officials across the Commonwealth, urges Governor Healey and Climate Chief Hoffer to make solar energy a key part of Massachusetts’ strategy to address climate change. 

Solar energy generation in Massachusetts grew 9 times in the last decade. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, at the end of 2023, Massachusetts had installed just over 5 GW of installed solar capacity: we just need to double that by 2030 to cover a million roofs.

“Distributed solar is the critical piece in transitioning to an equitable, clean energy future. It’s affordable, healthy, great for our economy – and it can also be a tool for justice,” said Elena Weissmann, Regional Director, Northeast, for Vote Solar. “We’re calling on Governor Healey to scale up solar and accelerate our transition to a fully clean energy economy, and to use solar as a tool to address historic disparities in environmental harms and energy burdens.”

The letter calls for eliminating unnecessary roadblocks to solar development, ensuring fair compensation for solar generation, and expanding access to solar energy for all Massachusetts residents. Additionally, it calls for incentivizing solar installations on built land, such as parking lots, brownfields, and rooftops. 

According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Massachusetts has the technical potential to generate up to 47% of its electricity consumption from rooftop solar. 

Some of the best places to put solar panels are the flat sunny roofs of big box stores and warehouses. Massachusetts has more than 1,804 big box buildings. Solar panels on the roofs of all those big box stores could power 134,329 average households. Warehouses also offer ample space for solar panels. Massachusetts has more than 7,376 medium and large warehouses with more than 163 million square feet of rooftop area suitable for solar panels. Maximizing Massachusetts’ warehouse roof solar generation could produce enough to power 379,000 average households. 

“Today, you can get energy straight from your roof,” said Neumann. “Every sunny roof without solar panels is a wasted opportunity.”