Massachusetts' Solar Revolution Continues

The state now has a rebate program to help Massachusetts home and building owners finance solar hot water projects.

For the past few years, Massachusetts has turned to solar to help in its economic recovery, primarily in solar photovoltaic systems. But solar thermal systems are now its focus. Last fall, it began a program to provide solar thermal water heating systems to low-income housing and recreational facilities across the state through the

Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. It awarded funds to the Low-Income Energy Affordability Network and the Action for Boston Community Development for about 18-25 solar thermal projects to reduce energy-related costs, thereby making them more affordable.

MassCEC also announced last fall a rebate program to help Massachusetts homeowners finance solar hot water projects - approximately $1,000 per system for a typical residential solar hot water system for a four to five person household, with additional rebates available for system components manufactured in Massachusetts. So far, 110 projects have been awarded rebates since the program officially began in February.

And just last week, a rebate program for commercial solar thermal projects was announced. The program will offer $1 million in grants to commercial and large multifamily building owners.

Kelly Faloon was a former editor of Plumbing & Mechanical as well as the BNP Media Plumbing Group’s Integrated Content Development Specialist. She also was a former editor of the Radiant Comfort Guide the Radiant & Hydronics Report — both official publications of the Radiant Professionals Alliance — and twice-monthly Radiant & Hydronics eNews, an enewsletter for anyone interested in the world of heating with hot water.

Her editorial specialties included women in plumbing, recruiting for the trades, green construction techniques, water conservation, water treatment, hydronic heating, radiant heating and cooling, snow melt, solar thermal and geothermal.

After a 3½-year stint at sister publication Supply House Times, Faloon joined the PM staff in December 2001 as senior editor. She was named PM’s managing editor in 2006 and editor in 2013.

Previously, she spent nearly 10 years at CCH, a publishing firm specializing in business and tax law, where she wore many hats — proofreader, writer/editor for a daily tax publication, and Internal Revenue Code editor.

A native of Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula, Faloon is a 1986 journalism graduate of Michigan State University.