Massachusetts geothermal AECs — 5x multiplier, up to 7x

Massachusetts pays more per unit of heat than any other geothermal credit program in the country — because of how it counts.

Under the Massachusetts Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard, one Alternative Energy Certificate represents 3,412,000 BTU (one megawatt-hour equivalent) of net useful thermal energy. Ground-source heat pumps then receive a multiplier of 5 — the largest available to any renewable thermal technology — at every size class, from residential through large commercial.

Buildings that achieve a HERS rating of 50 or lower, meet the Department of Energy's Zero Energy definition, earn PHIUS+ certification, or register as a Certified Passive House or EnerPHit retrofit receive an additional multiplier of 2, for a total of 7.

The Massachusetts requirement also increases by 0.25% every year, indefinitely — there is no plateau year.

Smaller systems can be paid upfront

Systems with an output capacity at or below 134,000 BTU per hour are eligible for preminting: the Department of Energy Resources calculates a ten-year strip of certificates based on conditioned square footage and mints them at qualification, rather than metering quarterly for a decade.

Larger systems are metered

Systems between 134,000 and 1,000,000 BTU/hr are classified as Intermediate; those at or above 1,000,000 BTU/hr are Large. Both receive certificates quarterly based on metered production, and both require a full metering package — a metering plan, product literature for each meter and the data acquisition system, an independent verifier, a process flow diagram, a one-line electrical diagram, and a completed Renewable Thermal Performance Workbook. This is exactly the documentation work Emergent Energy handles for you.

What does not qualify

• Cooling. Only useful thermal energy used for heating generates certificates, though you may use the system for cooling without restriction.
• Systems with an operation date before January 1, 2015.
• Systems serving a facility outside Massachusetts.
• Direct-exchange heat pumps circulating refrigerant through closed-loop copper piping are specifically prohibited.

Massachusetts certificate pricing

Massachusetts certificate prices move with the market and have recently traded close to the program's alternative compliance payment, which adjusts annually for inflation. We quote you the current market price when we evaluate your system.

Massachusetts certificates are tracked through NEPOOL-GIS rather than PJM-GATS.