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United States › Massachusetts

Massachusetts solar installation & market data

Market totals through July 2026 By The SolarDNA Data TeamInstallation records through October 27, 2023
Massachusetts has about 233,679 solar systems totalling 3.27 GW, with 13.3% of owner-occupied homes on solar and residential solar added up 22.8% over the trailing twelve months. SolarDNA tracks 142,641 individual installations here at a median installed cost of $4.17/W.
Explore Massachusetts in the app See Massachusetts installers
Solar systems
233,679
See data
Installed capacity
3.27 GW
See data
Median cost
$4.17/W
See data
12-mo growth
▲ 22.8%
See data
Adoption
13.3%
See data
SolarDNA tracks 4M+ installations across 16.3K+ zip markets.How we build this data →
Massachusetts solar market summary

The Massachusetts solar market at a glance.

Massachusetts has about 233,679 solar systems totalling 3.27 GW, as reported by its utilities through July 2026. 178 MW of residential solar was added in the trailing twelve months, up 22.8% on the twelve months before. 13.3% of owner-occupied homes have gone solar and 1.3% of solar customers have a battery. SolarDNA tracks 142,641 individual installations here, with a median residential cost of $4.17 per watt, from 1,141 installers.

58
SolarDNA Market Score
How Market Score is calculated ↗
Analyst's take

Massachusetts' SolarDNA Market Score: 58 out of 100.

Massachusetts scores 58 out of 100 on SolarDNA's Market Score, a 0-to-100 scale benchmarked against every other state market. That is higher than 92% of U.S. states. Grade A (Excellent).

The score combines 5 subscores, each computed from observed market data:

  • Velocity (73): trailing-12-month growth in solar added versus the prior twelve months, so accelerating markets score higher.
  • Cost (50): median installed $/W relative to the national median (a cheaper market scores higher).
  • Incentives (61): net-metering coverage, RECs a new system can earn, state tax credit, rebate program and tax exemptions (components listed below).
  • Resource (15): annual solar irradiance, so the same system produces more where this score is high.
  • Depth (100): proven demand: how many systems are already installed, with a bonus for markets that show adoption without being saturated.
Incentive components · Massachusetts
reviewed 2026-09
Net-metering coverage51%of residential customers
RECs for new systemsLegacy systems only
State tax creditYes
Rebate or performance programYes
Property tax exemptionYes
No sales tax on systemsYes

15% credit up to $1,000; SMART performance incentive; property and sales tax exemptions.

Federal: Federal residential credit (25D) ended for systems placed in service after Dec 31, 2025. Third-party-owned systems can still use the commercial credit (48E) through 2027 under construction-start rules.

The Market Score is a starting point, not a territory decision.

State-level averages hide wide variation. Here's how to go deeper in the app:

  1. 1Narrow to a zip codeZip metrics give a far more accurate picture of the exact neighborhoods you are considering.
  2. 2Apply filtersFilter by score, growth, $/W, adoption and permits to reach the markets that actually match your model.
  3. 3Benchmark the installersSee who already wins there, how fast they are growing, and what they charge per watt.
Explore Massachusetts in the app See Massachusetts installers
Key definitions

How SolarDNA defines these metrics

Solar systems

Solar systems is the market-size figure: the systems utilities report on their lines, plus an estimate (sized from reported capacity) for systems outside net metering. It is current for every state.

How SolarDNA calculates solar systems →

Tracked installations

Tracked installations are the individual residential, commercial and utility-scale systems SolarDNA holds a record for. SolarDNA de-duplicates the same system across records. Pricing, installers, equipment and every zip-level figure come from these records.

How SolarDNA calculates tracked installations →

Median installed cost

Median installed cost is the middle price per watt (DC) that homeowners paid for a residential system in the trailing twelve months, before incentives. Quartiles show the spread.

How SolarDNA calculates median installed cost →

Adoption rate

Adoption rate is the share of owner-occupied homes with a residential solar system. It measures how saturated a market is, not how fast it is growing.

How SolarDNA calculates adoption rate →

12-month growth

For a state, growth compares the residential solar capacity added in the trailing twelve months with the twelve months before, from utility-reported totals with one-off reporting corrections smoothed out. For cities and zip codes it compares tracked installations.

How SolarDNA calculates 12-month growth →

Battery share

Battery share is the portion of a state's solar customers whose system includes a battery, as reported by utilities.

How SolarDNA calculates battery share →

Permits

Permits count the solar building permits filed in the last twelve months. They lead installations by several months, which makes them the earliest read on demand.

How SolarDNA calculates permits →

Market Score

SolarDNA's Market Score grades each market from 0 to 100 on solar sales potential, weighing velocity, cost, incentives, solar resource and installer depth. Markets are benchmarked against every other market in the country, and the letter grade is set on a curve: A is the top 10% of markets, C the middle 40%, F the bottom 10%.

How SolarDNA calculates market score →
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Zip report · Market drill-down

See what a specific Massachusetts zip code looks like

Drop in any Massachusetts zip code and SolarDNA opens its market card: score, installs, median $/W, growth and permits, benchmarked against the state.

◈
Zip Market Score
Where the zip ranks against every other zip in the country.
◈
Growth and permits
Trailing-12-month growth and permit activity where cities publish it.
◈
State benchmark
Installed cost, score and share of installs against the state.
◈
Neighboring zips
The nearest zip markets, so you can route a territory.
Explore the data

Dive deeper into the Massachusetts market

Market size & momentum

Systems, capacity, monthly additions, battery share and solar customers by utility.

See data

Pricing & economics

Installed $/W, quartiles, system sizes and simple payback.

See data

Growth & adoption

Installs by year, adoption, TAM penetration and battery attach.

See data

Installers

The league table: volume, momentum, system size and pricing per installer.

See data

Utilities & incentives

Retail rates by utility, net metering, SREC value and the planned utility pipeline.

See data
Market size & momentum

How big Massachusetts' solar market is, and where it is heading

Totals reported by Massachusetts' utilities through July 2026 (latest months are preliminary)

Export monthly (CSV)
Solar capacity added by month, MW · trailing 36 months
Residential Commercial & industrialOne-off reporting corrections are smoothed out.
Residential solar added, 12 mo
178 MW
about 18,968 systems · ▲ 22.8% vs the prior 12 months
Typical new home system: 9.4 kW AC
Next-12-month outlook
176–222 MW
residential · midpoint 199 MW

Trailing-12-month residential capacity added carried forward at half the observed growth rate (capped at ±30%), with a ±11% band. Not a forecast of permits or policy.

Solar capacity added by year, MW · * partial year
Capacity by segment
Residential1,618 MW
Commercial1,602 MW
Industrial54 MW
Community-solar subscribers360
Battery share
1.3%
of solar customers have a battery · 236 added in 12 months
SolarDNA holds an individual record for 142,641 of Massachusetts' systems (61% of the reported total), through October 27, 2023. Pricing, installers, equipment and every zip-level figure below come from those records.
Utility territories

Solar customers by utility in Massachusetts

Net-metered solar customers through July 2026

Export CSV
UtilitySolar customersCapacityAdded, 12 moGrowthWith battery
Massachusetts Electric Co118,6101,473 MW5,667▼ 58.5%0.1%
NSTAR Electric Company97,9301,629 MW9,138▼ 5.6%2.7%
Fitchburg Gas & Elec Light Co4,13831 MW246▼ 49.9%1.6%
Town of Reading - (MA)3816 MW28—10.2%
Nantucket Electric Co3645 MW31——
Pricing & economics

What solar costs in Massachusetts

Residential systems, trailing twelve months

Median installed cost, $/W DC by year
Median installed cost
$4.17/W
Middle half: $3.46 – $4.97
Simple payback
16.3 yrs
at 18.9¢/kWh retail · median system 7.28 kW
Growth & adoption

How fast Massachusetts is going solar

From SolarDNA's installation records, which run through October 27, 2023; current momentum is in the market totals above

Tracked installations by year
Battery attach rate
Installations by month · trailing 36 months through September 2023
Adoption rate
13.31%
of owner-occupied homes · from utility-reported residential systems
TAM penetration
25.4%
of 6.38 GW addressable rooftop capacity
Installers

Top installers in Massachusetts

Ranked by installations in this state

Export CSVFull league table →
#InstallerInstalls12-moAvg kW$/W
1SUNRUN36,8291,9867.58$3.86
2TESLA23,1415838.44$5.15
3TRINITY SOLAR12,463247.49$3.90
4DIRECT ENERGY SOLAR3,36108.4$3.90
5ROOF DIAGNOSTICS SOLAR3,08606.54$3.68
6BOSTON SOLAR2,96118111.41$3.77
7SUNGEVITY2,79707.14$3.73
8SUNBUG SOLAR2,3779213.48$3.99
9NEXT STEP LIVING2,36005.67$6.51
10RGS ENERGY2,042014.83$4.34
11REVOLUSUN1,680479.55$4.29
12FREEDOM FOREVER1,6732658.59$3.76
13PV SQUARED1,6231012.37$4.58
14SOLARFLAIR ENERGY1,615016.33$3.60
15MY GENERATION ENERGY1,31413513.59$3.67
Zip markets

Top zip markets in Massachusetts

Ranked by installations · click for the zip market

Export CSVOpen on map →
ZipInstalls$/WGrowthScore
01844 Methuen1,635$4.16—53.2 A
02360 Plymouth1,550$4.25—52.3 A
02151 Revere1,319$4.25—51.2 A
01701 Framingham1,319$4.08—52 A
01801 Woburn1,286$4.43—50.2 B
02368 Randolph1,184$4.23—50.6 A
01453 Leominster1,176$4.25—50.5 A
02301 Brockton1,160$3.98—51.7 A
01760 Natick1,143$3.97—51.6 A
02302 Brockton1,141$4.01—51.4 A
01201 Pittsfield1,085$3.80—52.1 A
02703 Attleboro1,073$4.10—50.7 A
01826 Dracut1,056$4.20—50.1 B
01915 Beverly1,050$4.28—49.7 B
02790 Westport1,025$4.28—49.6 B
Counties

Counties in Massachusetts

Zip markets grouped by county · click for the county market

CountyZip marketsInstalls
Middlesex County8730,472
Worcester County9019,170
Essex County4814,449
Bristol County3913,332
Norfolk County4011,944
Barnstable County5411,813
Plymouth County4911,150
Hampden County448,009
Hampshire County286,309
Suffolk County366,256
Berkshire County364,074
Franklin County303,342
Utilities & incentives

Utilities and retail rates

Implied residential rate per utility

UtilityTypeRes. customers¢/kWhNet metering
NSTAR Electric CompanyInvestor Owned919,70319.9✓
Massachusetts Electric CoInvestor Owned683,67623.1✓
Direct Energy ServicesRetail Power Marketer498,71815.1—
Constellation NewEnergy, IncRetail Power Marketer291,38215.5—
Dynegy Energy Services, LLCRetail Power Marketer189,51714.3—
First Point Power, LLCRetail Power Marketer162,84913.8—
NextEra Energy Services, LLCRetail Power Marketer145,99014.1—
Inspire Energy Holdings, LLCRetail Power Marketer63,98019.9—
Solar permits, 12 mo
121
17 in the last 90 days
Covers Cambridge. Not a statewide total.
Planned utility-scale
55 MW
announced projects
SREC market
$232
≈ $232/kW/yr
Explore more markets

Other solar markets in Massachusetts

Methuen 01844 Plymouth 02360 Revere 02151 Framingham 01701 Woburn 01801
Install mix

Three ways to slice Massachusetts' 142.6K installations

See how the market splits by sector, by battery attach and by installer, updated with every refresh.

See all breakdowns
142.6KINSTALLATIONSBy sectorWith batteryBy installer
▤
Seasonality

When demand peaks in Massachusetts

Peak month
March · 9.9% of a year's installs
Slowest month
September · 7.5%
Average of 3 complete years (2020, 2021, 2022)
See the monthly trend
Frequently asked

Quick answers about Massachusetts' market

🛡 Why trust SolarDNA data?
SolarDNA is built from millions of verified installation records and continuously refreshed market signals, de-duplicated so the same system is never counted twice. Every market page shows the date its data runs through, and every score is recomputed after each refresh.
How many solar installations are there in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts has about 233,679 solar systems totalling 3.27 GW, based on what its utilities reported through July 2026. SolarDNA holds an individual record for 142,641 of them, of which 136,645 (96%) are residential.
How much does solar cost in Massachusetts?
The median residential system in Massachusetts cost $4.17 per watt over the trailing twelve months, with the middle half of systems between $3.46 and $4.97 per watt. The median system is 7.28 kW.
Is the Massachusetts solar market growing?
Residential solar added in Massachusetts is up 22.8%: 178 MW in the twelve months through July 2026 versus 145 MW in the twelve months before, roughly 18,968 new systems.
What is the solar adoption rate in Massachusetts?
13.31% of owner-occupied homes in Massachusetts have a residential solar system. Residential capacity is 25.4% of the estimated addressable rooftop capacity of 6.38 GW.
Is Massachusetts a good market for solar sales?
Massachusetts scores 58 out of 100 on SolarDNA's Market Score and 53 on the Opportunity Score, which rewards under-served markets with high utility rates and strong sun.
How many solar installers work in Massachusetts?
1,141 installers completed at least one system in Massachusetts in SolarDNA's installation records. The top installers are ranked in the league table above.
How many solar permits were filed in Massachusetts?
121 solar permits were recorded in the last twelve months in the Massachusetts jurisdictions SolarDNA covers (Cambridge), including 17 in the last ninety days. It is not a statewide total.
How current is Massachusetts's solar data?
Market totals, growth and battery share reflect what utilities reported through July 2026. Individual installation records (pricing, installers, equipment and zip codes) run through October 27, 2023. SolarDNA refreshes markets continuously and recomputes every score after each refresh.
Get more in the app

There's a lot more inside the SolarDNA app.

  • ◇Zip and city market pages
  • ◇Installer league tables
  • ◇Territory builder
  • ◇Solarizer deal estimates
  • ◇Permit activity where reported
  • ◇Export the data
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