ISO New England has raised its expectation of how much solar capacity will be online in the six-state region by the mid-2020s by 30%, but solar advocates said Thursday much more solar capacity could be added over the next few years if state laws and policies were more supportive.

In a draft version of its 2016 Forecast Report of Capacity, Energy, Loads and Transmission -- also known as the CELT report -- ISO New England said it now expects the region to have 3,214 MW of solar capacity operational by 2025.

That total is 31% higher than the 2,449 MW of solar capacity that ISO New England said it expected to be online in 2024 in the independent system operator's final 2015 CELT report, which was released in May 2015.

ISO New England said the much higher forecast reflects, among other things, "consideration of recent federal and state policy changes," including the extension of the 30% federal investment tax credit for solar projects through 2019 and the ratcheting-down of the ITC to 10% over the following three years.

According to the draft report, 1,325 MW of solar capacity had been installed in New England by the end of 2015. Of that total, 947 MW is in Massachusetts, 188 MW in Connecticut and 126 MW in Vermont. New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Maine had 26 MW, 25 MW and 15 MW, respectively.

The draft predicts that by 2025, 1,640 MW of solar capacity will be online in Massachusetts, as well as 866 MW in Connecticut, 354 MW in Vermont, 217 MW in Rhode Island, 79 MW in New Hampshire and 58 MW in Maine.

Sean Gallagher, vice president for state affairs at the Solar Energy Industries Association, said even more solar capacity could be installed. He added that the Massachusetts Net Metering and Solar Task Force concluded in a report issued in April 2015 that with supportive state policies at least 2,500 MW of solar capacity could be online in Massachusetts alone by 2023.

Gallagher said that since Massachusetts represents about half of New England's total electric load, the task force report's findings suggest the region as a whole "could easily exceed" the 3,214 MW of solar capacity ISO New England expects to be online in 2025.

--Housley Carr, newsdesk@platts.com
--Edited by Keiron Greenhalgh, keiron.greenhalgh@platts.com

© 2016 Platts, The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.  To subscribe or visit go to:  http://www.platts.com

http://www.platts.com/latest-news/electric-power/boston/iso-new-england-boosts-solar-power-forecast-for-21188925