Installing Solar Panels in Bourne, Massachusetts

My first ever job in the solar industry was selling solar panels in Bourne, Massachusetts, so I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for the town that straddles the Cape Cod Canal and acts as the true gateway to the Cape (in spite of what neighboring Wareham may say).

My first ever customer was Connie, a lovely 86-year-old lady in Sagamore Beach who wanted to do her part to help the environment before she left this world. It was at the height of the pandemic but we still managed to get her system up and running. I still drive by from time-to-time and marvel at how far I’ve come since those early days of my solar career.

Bourne’s seven villages run the gamut from Sagamore Beach at the west end of the canal, which could be described as a distant suburb of Boston, filled with commuters and lavish homes that overlook Cape Cod Bay. And then there’s Monument Beach, where tiny seaside cottages are often only occupied for three months of the year.

And the Air Base that is located in the Bourne takes up a huge chunk of the town’s geographic footprint, but adds only a small number of residents that door-knocking solar reps are unable to reach for national security reasons.

Solar Installations in Bourne

There are some significant installations of solar panels in Bourne, including a 25-acre site close to the Bourne Rotary on MacArthur Boulevard. Half a mile down the road, the Gallo Ice Arena proudly states that the ice at their rink is made from the sun. That’s because they signed a power purchase agreement with IGS, the operators of the MacArthur Boulevard solar farm, to purchase their electricity at a discounted rate.

That discount was 20% when they first signed the agreement. With the way electricity rates have gone up in recent years, it’s surely much greater than that now.

Right across the street from the Gallo Ice Arena, the Upper Cape Regional Vocational Technical School boasts one of the largest high school parking lot solar canopies in the state, a  663-kilowatt (kW) system with almost 2,000 panels.

Like Gallo, the school signed a power purchase agreement with Solect, who funded and installed the $2 million project and will also be responsible for maintenance. And like Gallo, the 20-30% of savings the school expected to see when they signed the agreement have likely increased considerably with the recent increases in the cost of “traditional” electricity.

And on the other side of the Canal at the former site of Cape Cod Aggregates on Scenic Highway in Bournedale, a 30 acre solar farm was recently constructed consisting of 32,000 panels.

The five megawatt farm is operated by Next Grid Inc. of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada and has been generating solar power since 2021.

Residential Solar Companies Serving Bourne

Its location at the gateway of the Upper Cape means that Bourne is well-served by all the giant off-Cape solar companies. Freedom Forever, Sunrun, and Trinity Solar all have a strong presence there. And Mashpee is close enough that local solar companies, Solar Rising and Cotuit Solar are also nearby to serve the town well.

Proximity to the Air Base

The air base located in Bourne means that flying drones is sometimes prohibited, which can be a problem for solar companies, who have recently started using drones to conduct roof inspections at site surveys. 

So residential solar customers who live close to the base shouldn’t be too surprised if their site surveyor goes “old school” on them and uses a ladder to measure and inspect their roof.

Final Thoughts on Installing Solar Panels in Bourne

Bourne is definitely a great place to go solar, whether yours is a year-round or a seasonal home. It’s even possible to go solar on a summer home in Bourne and transfer some of the credits to offset some of the electricity costs at your year-round home off-Cape.

If you own a home in Bourne, MA and have ever thought about installing solar panels, we’d love to help you decide. Just contact us and set up an informative, no-pressure chat about installing solar panels in Bourne.