You can choose to either purchase or lease a solar PV system.

Leasing a System

If you choose to lease a system, a solar company installs the system on your property for little or no upfront cost to you. They own and operate the system. You pay them a monthly equipment lease fee which is less than what you would have paid CMLP, on average, to deliver the same amount of electricity to your house. One caveat: the lease agreement must be approved by CMLP’s legal counsel in advance. To date, they have approved lease agreements offered by Direct Energy / Astrum Solar and New England Clean Energy – the only two that have submitted agreements for approval. 
 

Owning a System

Average costs in Concord (before any rebates or tax incentives) for projects installed from 2023 through 2026 have been $3,963 / kW(DC) for solar arrays without batteries installed during new construction or major renovation and $3,599 / kW(DC) for solar-only projects installed on existing buildings.  Projects that also have energy storage typically include 2 batteries and have averaged $5,756 per kW(DC) when installed during new construction or major renovation and $4,954 / kW(DC) when installed on existing structures.  Broader information about system installation costs can be found here: www.masscec.com/solar-costs-performance.  Information about federal tax credits for solar PV installations here: energystar.gov and state tax credits here: programs.dsireusa.org.

PV Installers

Regardless of whether you lease or purchase a solar array, you'll need to choose a company to work with.  CMLP recommends getting 3 quotes for any significant work you have done on your house.  We do not have a list of pre-screened solar contractors, but you can find some through the following avenues:

• solarreviews.com/solar-companies/massachusetts/boston
• Talk with friends & neighbors to see who they’ve worked with and recommend.
• Chat with one of the many Concord residents who have volunteered to act as Solar Coaches.  To do so, send an email to CMLP here: pcady@concordma.gov.
• Look at solar installer ratings with the Better Business Bureau, through the public library’s Consumer’s Checkbook account (checkbook.org/library/Concord-Public-Library/login/), or via online ratings such as Yelp or Google.

Here is a list of companies that have installed systems in Concord, showing information we have.  (Lowercase company names in italics are no longer in business.)  CMLP does not endorse or pre-qualify these companies in any way.