Pollinator-Friendly Solar Program Must Stay in MA's Climate Bill

Evan Abramson

Photovoltaic arrays can be planted with native vegetation to provide habitat for pollinators and other wildlife species. UMass has a voluntary "pollinator-friendly" certification program (link for more information) to help solar developers establish and maintain high-quality native meadow habitats under and around solar panels.  

The Department of Energy Resources (DOER) includes a “Pollinator Adder” in the SMART program that provides an incentive for solar developers to meet these standards (see page 4 of the 2020 regulation here). That is, it did until Dec 2021 when the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) ended the state's pollinator-friendly program by disallowing cost recovery for the incentive. The Attorney General said that this decision "inappropriately intrudes on DOER’s statutory authority to design and implement the SMART program." Yet, their decision stands.

The good news is that we have a chance to revive this program! Introduced by Senator Jo Comerford (Hampshire, Franklin, & Worcester) and co-sponsored by 9 other Senators, Section 48 of MA's Climate Bill (S.2842) would reinstate DOER's pollinator-friendly solar program.

MA RESIDENTS: The Climate Bill is currently in Conference Committee, where House and Senate versions are being reconciled. Will you contact your Representative and Senator today and ask them to urge the Conference Committee to retain Section 48 in the final version of S.2842?

Thank you for taking a few minutes of your time to send a letter to your legislators. And thank you for continuing to fight for pollinators and the habitat they need to survive!


Additional background information:

On December 30, 2021, the MA Department of Public Utilities (DPU) decided to disallow cost recovery for the Solar Pollinator Incentive Program ("Pollinator Adder"). In short, this means that solar developers will no longer be incentivized to create certified pollinator-friendly habitat on already-permitted solar fields. DPU's decision to disallow cost recovery for the incentive threatens the maintenance of existing projects as well as the creation of new habitat.

For months, we have been advocating for DPU to reconsider its decision to end the pollinator-friendly solar incentive program. In response to our first call to action back in January, our network sent over 2,000 unique emails  to officials from the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) and the Department of Energy and Resources (DOER), as well as the EEA Secretary and the office of the Attorney General.

On February 2nd, the DPU heard a motion to reconsider this decision. All official parties to this proceeding, including the MA Attorney General, expressed support for continuance of the Pollinator Adder. Yet, DPU did not reverse its decision. Section 48 of the Climate Bill (S.2842) would reinstate DOER's pollinator-friendly incentive program, which has already resulted in the creation of 600 acres of habitat and has the potential to create much more.

The Pollinator Adder enables developers to cover costs of the certification, which is administered by UMass Clean Energy Extension. Certified habitat must meet rigorous standards, including the installation of native plant species that support at-risk pollinator species. (More info on the program here.)

Why does the Pollinator Adder belong in the Climate Bill?

In addition to supporting pollinators, native plantings also store more carbon and offer greater protection against soil erosion and water runoff than the typical turf grass or minimally managed fields in many solar installations. By protecting pollinators, increasing below-ground biomass and reducing soil erosion and water runoff, the program increases the resilience of our ecosystems. The Pollinator Adder thus supports achieving the state’s crucial carbon and climate goals within the electricity sector.