Home Energy

Green Energy Consumers provides helpful information about solar and other options for having your home or business electricity be greener (use less carbon emitting sources like oil or natural gas)

Did you know? There are two parts to your electricity cost? Look at your electric bill to see it.

1. Delivery - this is the fee Eversource charges for their electrical lines and other infrastructure. Unless you are "off the grid", you will always pay Eversource for these services.

2. Supply - the is the cost of the power itself and is based on how much you use and the current cost per kWh. The source of the energy can be solar, wind, natural gas, oil, or other. Massachusetts law mandates that a minimum percentage of the source come from non-fossil fuel burning sources (~26% in 2024).

Homes and businesses that want to use greener energy than the minimum mandated can install solar panels or can purchase greener energy from a different supplier than Eversource. In either case, Eversource will still be the company that provides delivery.

Using greener energy is critical to reducing carbon emissions so consider one of these options now.

Both options can save you money too. There are some incentives for installing solar panels.

Coming to Hopkinton in 2024 to 2025 (fingers crossed) - Municipal Aggregation

Learn about Solar options including the Energy Sage tool to help you get quotes for your home

Testimonials - See what your neighbors are saying about their solar panels and how much they've saved:

• • Christine Coffman

  • Linda Chuss

  • Nicole Simpson

  • Paul Gallagher

If you are looking into solar ... Review the warranty - technology is changing quickly. Some people who bought panels 10 years ago cannot get them replaced when they fail now because those panels are no longer manufactured and new panels are not compatible with the older system. Failure rates are low, but be aware of this concern and see what protections or reimbursements the options you are considering can offer you.

If you can't use solar consider green electricity sourcing through alternative suppliers:

• • One resident in town, J.B., uses Nexamp community solar, which is greener and saves money (they say 10% to 15% per year) - this video provides a summary. Here's their 2023 summary - highlights include having 69,000 customers and being the largest community solar program in the country.

  • Another resident, N.W., uses Arcadia Community Solar and saves about $10 to $20 a month.

  • Green Energry Consumers offers an option called the Green Powered Subscription that allows you to "use" more green energy than you'd get by default through Eversource

  • Energy Sage provides information about community solar and let's you compare active programs for this area.

  • Framingham shared that Energy Switch MA shows competitive suppliers that incorporate renewable energy as a larger portion of their supply. Just be sure to check the fine print for cancellation fees, minimum terms, and rates that change over time - there have been problems with some suppliers that resulted in unnecessary higher costs for homes and businesses.