Enroll your home battery storage system to earn incentives and help the grid!

New England’s electrical grid faces its highest demand during the hottest days of the year, driving up energy and infrastructure costs for everyone. You can make a difference by enrolling in Cape Light Compact’s ConnectedSolutions battery program!

How do I enroll?

Customers can enroll through their qualified battery system or inverter manufacturer. The battery system partners that are currently approved for participation in the Cape Light Compact’s ConnectedSolutions program are listed below. Follow the links below to enroll through your battery system/inverter manufacturer’s website:

Program Materials:

Rules and Information for CLC ConnectedSolutions Residential Battery Program

How it works

By enrolling your qualified battery energy storage system in Cape Light Compact’s ConnectedSolutions program, you can earn incentives for allowing the Compact to tap into your battery’s stored energy at times of high electricity demand. During these peak demand events, Cape Light Compact will send a signal to your battery’s inverter to discharge the battery, reducing the strain on the grid.

You can earn incentives based on your battery system’s average kilowatt (kW) discharge over the course of all of the season’s peak demand events, at the rates shown in the chart below. Your battery system performance, and therefore your per-season incentive amount, will vary based on the size and configuration of your battery.

2023 Season: Summer
Incentive per average kW discharge ($/kW season) $275
Season Dates June 1 – September 30
Number of events 30 – 60
Event Duration 3 hours maximum
Event timing 3 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Customers will have the above summer incentive rates locked in for the first 5 summers of participation.

If there is an extreme weather event forecasted, Cape Light Compact will not discharge your battery for a peak demand event so that it remains ready to power your home in the event of an outage.

As more battery and inverter manufacturer partners are added to the program, the Compact will update this list.

Financing

Customers can apply for a zero-interest HEAT Loan for the equipment and labor costs associated with installing a new battery storage system that will participate in ConnectedSolutions. If you are interested in financing your new battery system with a HEAT Loan and would like to receive an authorization form, please check the appropriate field on your ConnectedSolutions application. Your installer will need to submit an installation quote that complies with these guidelines.

Questions?

Click here to see program eligibility requirements and answers to frequently asked questions.

Residential Battery Storage ConnectedSolutions Program – Frequently Asked Questions

What are the eligibility requirements?

To enroll your home battery in Cape Light Compact’s ConnectedSolutions, you must meet the following eligibility criteria:

  • You are an Eversource residential electric customer located on Cape Cod or Martha’s Vineyard
  • Your battery is connected to a building that pays into the Cape Light Compact’s energy efficiency fund and is interconnected to the grid
  • Your battery is made by one of our approved manufacturers or connected to an approved inverter
  • Your battery performs according to what is established by your interconnection agreement with Eversource

What are your approved battery/inverter manufacturers?

A summary of the eligible models is below. We are looking into additional battery manufacturers and will update this webpage as new eligible manufacturers are added.

 

Manufacturer Eligible Inverters Eligible Batteries
Enphase Enphase IQ series microinverters

Enphase M-series microinverters

 Encharge 3

Encharge 10

Tesla Powerwall 2**

Tesla Powerwall+**
FranklinWH All Installations All Installations
Fortress Power Avalon

FP-10 Max
eVault Max 18.5kWh
eFlex 5.4 kWh
FlexTower
eSpire Mini
eSpire 233
eSpire 280 systems

 

 paired with Avalon inverters (Avalon HV 11.4kw or Avalon HV 7.6kw

 

Batteries must be paired with Envy Inverter (8, 10, 12 kW)
Generac Model 700 Series

Model 11400 Series

 

 Panasonic (DCB)

Generac (EX)

 
Panasonic EVERVOLT Home Battery System 9 kWh (usable energy) – EVHB-I7-X10
EVERVOLT Home Battery System 13.5 kWh (usable energy) – EVHB-I7-X15
EVERVOLT Home Battery System 18 kWh (usable energy) – EVHB-I7-X20
QCell Q.HOME CORE H3S/H7S
Sol-Ark Sol-Ark 12K

Sol-Ark 8K

Sol-Ark 5K

 Any 48V Battery
SolarEdge SE3000H-US

SE3800H-US

SE3800A-US

SE6000H-US

SE7600H-US

SE7600A-US

 

 LG Chem RESU10H

Tesla Powerwall 2**

Tesla Powerwal+**

 
Sonnen Outback Power Radian Sonnen Eco

Sonnen Ecolinx
Tesla All Solar Inverters** Tesla Powerwall 2**

Tesla Powerwall+**
Sunnova All Installations All Installations

**Tesla Powerwall has an internal inverter

How can I ensure that I’ll still have backup energy if I need it?

You can work with your battery installer or manufacturer to specify the maximum amount of energy you want to contribute during ConnectedSolutions events. And to ensure you have energy if you need it, Cape Light Compact will not call events if a severe storm is forecast to ensure your battery remains fully charged.

How is performance calculated?

We calculate performance by taking the average kilowatts (kW) your system contributes per event, averaged over the season.

How much should I expect to earn in incentives?

The incentive paid to you depends on three factors 1) the incentive rate, 2) the average kW your battery contributes and 3) what, if any, portion of the incentive your battery installer or manufacturer collects in return for managing your participation. The current incentive rate is $275/kW for the summer. Please consult your battery installer or manufacturer for your battery’s expected contribution and information about what, if any, portion of the incentive they collect.

How do I enroll my home battery in ConnectedSolutions?

You can enroll via the manufacturer links above. To be eligible to participate, you should also be sure to submit an interconnection application to Eversource’s interconnection department. Your battery installer can help you with this as well.

If you already have a battery, you can sign up through your battery/inverter manufacturer at the links at the top of this page.

Can I work with any installer?

Yes, you can choose any installer you want to install your battery system.

Once I enroll, how long can I expect to receive incentives?

Customers will receive the same summer incentive rate for five years unless they request to unenroll.

Cape Light Compact intends to continue offering ConnectedSolutions beyond 2023, subject to regulatory approval and incentive changes.

How do I unenroll from ConnectedSolutions?

Please contact your battery/inverter manufacturer, or email connectedsolutions@capelightcompact.org or capelightcompact@energyhub.com to unenroll from ConnectedSolutions.

Please note: you will not be eligible for the incentive if you unenroll part-way through a season.

Will I receive notifications before events?

Depending on your battery, you may not receive notification before all events. Cape Light Compact sends a signal to the battery or inverter manufacturer the day before an event is called, but whether the battery owner receives the notification varies by manufacturer. Please discuss with your battery or inverter manufacturer about whether you should expect to be notified before events.

Customers enrolled in the summer season should expect an event to be called most days in the summer, as long as the grid is functioning normally (Cape Light Compact will not call an event if there are significant outages due to a storm).

Is there financing available for my home battery?

Home batteries and installation costs are eligible for 0% financing through the Mass Save HEAT loan sponsored by Cape Light Compact. Note that the HEAT loan does not cover solar PV, but will cover the incremental costs for adding storage to a solar PV system. If you would like to apply for battery equipment and installation financing through the HEAT Loan program, please visit the Heat Loan page. Your battery installer will need to provide a quote for just the incremental costs of adding storage – see our battery HEAT Loan quote guidelines.

If I enroll in ConnectedSolutions, can I also earn Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) incentives?

Yes, as long as your battery is connected to a home solar PV system and meets the other requirements of the SMART program. For more information visit www.MASmartSolar.com.

Will ConnectedSolutions events count toward required discharges under SMART?

To receive SMART storage adder incentives, batteries must be discharged to the grid a minimum of 52 times a year OR must participate in ConnectedSolutions, in accordance with DOER’s SMART Energy Storage Guideline, which can be found here.

Can batteries connected to a solar farm participate in ConnectedSolutions?

No, the battery must be connected to a building/facility that pays into the Energy Efficiency Fund to be eligible for ConnectedSolutions incentives.

Have questions not answered here?

You can contact us by emailing connectedsolutions@capelightcompact.org.