As a key deadline for federal solar tax credits ticks closer, a Massachusetts program is helping the state’s nonprofits get solar projects underway before the incentive disappears.
The Solar Upgrading Nonprofits, or SUN, program provides nonprofits with financial and technical assistance to evaluate options for solar installations and seek out additional funding if they choose to go forward. The first round, in 2025, worked with 23 organizations. Five have decided to move forward with installations that total 1.5 megawatts of installed capacity — double the goal for that phase of the program.
“There is still time, but it is dwindling very quickly,” said Rachel Gentile, marketing and communications manager for Resonant Energy, the Boston-based solar company spearheading the initiative with funding from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, a quasi-public economic development agency.
Adding to the urgency is the fact that nonprofits have had relatively little time to take advantage of the tax credit. While for-profit businesses have been able to claim the incentive for some 20 years, nonprofits became eligible only with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022. So, the elimination of the credit means it is disappearing before many organizations have even had a chance to dig into the possibilities.
