The Massachusetts SMART (Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target) Program pays residential solar system owners a fixed rate per kWh generated, every month, for 10 years. Payments come directly from the customer’s utility — Eversource, National Grid, or Unitil — and the rate is locked in at enrollment. This article explains how the SMART program works and how to model it in Aurora.
In this article:
How the SMART program works
The SMART program is a Performance-Based Incentive (PBI) administered by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER). Key characteristics:
- Payments are made monthly per kWh of solar energy produced — not based on system size or cost.
- The rate ($/kWh) is fixed at enrollment for the full 10-year term. Current rates generally range from $0.22–$0.26/kWh depending on the utility.
- Payments are paid directly by the utility to the system owner, via the same billing structure as net metering.
- Only customers of Massachusetts’ three investor-owned utilities are eligible: Eversource, National Grid, and Unitil. Municipal Light Plant (MLP) customers are generally not eligible.
- Under SMART 3.0 (launched October 2025), residential systems under 25 kW are no longer subject to capacity block limits. Rates are set at the start of each program year rather than declining as blocks fill.
For full program details, visit the Massachusetts SMART Program page.
Finding your rate
Under SMART 3.0, residential systems under 25 kW use program-year rates published annually — there is no longer a capacity block to look up for most residential projects. The rate varies by utility. To find the current rate for a specific project:
- Use the DOER Value of Energy and Incentive Calculator at mass.gov SMART Program page to estimate the compensation rate for a specific project size, utility, and rate class.
- Confirm the utility (Eversource, National Grid, or Unitil) for the customer’s address.
- Note the Solar Incentive Payment ($/kWh) — you’ll enter this into Aurora. Duration for residential systems is 10 years.
Note: SMART rates are set annually at the start of each program year. Always use the current program year rate from the DOER calculator rather than a rate from a previous proposal.
How to model the SMART program in Aurora
Aurora’s integrated incentives database includes many pre-configured SMART incentives. Start there before creating a custom incentive.
Option 1: Use a pre-configured SMART incentive (recommended)
- Open the project in Sales Mode and navigate to $ (Pricing) > Incentives.
- Click Add Incentive and search “SMART” to see available pre-configured SMART incentives.
- Select the one that matches the customer’s utility. Click to apply it to the proposal.
Note: If you need to adjust the rate on a pre-configured incentive (e.g., because program year rates have changed), open it in Database > Incentives and select Duplicate. You can then edit the copy’s rate, name, or other fields without affecting the original.
Option 2: Create a custom SMART incentive from scratch
If no pre-configured SMART incentive is available for the customer’s utility, create one using the rate from the DOER Value of Energy and Incentive Calculator:
- Navigate to Database > Incentives > + New.
- Set Type to Performance.
- Set Scope to Local.
- Enter the Amount ($/kWh) from the DOER calculator for this utility and project.
- Set Duration to 10 (years) for residential systems.
- Leave Escalation per year at 0% unless your program specifies an annual rate increase.
- Set Disbursement type to Incremental (Aurora models this as annual payments; the utility issues actual payments monthly).
- Click Save. The incentive will now be available in Sales Mode.
Once applied or saved, find the incentive in Sales Mode > $ > Incentives > Add Incentive and search for it by name to apply it to the project.