⚡ Statewide Initiative

Your Community Can Own Its Energy Future.

Keep Lights On MA™ Is How.

Massachusetts cities and towns are facing rising electricity costs, growing demand, and little control over either. The Keep Lights On MA™ initiative changes that — giving communities a practical, structured path to locally generated clean energy that your community owns, controls, and benefits from for decades.

What It Means For Your Community How It Works

What Joining Means For Your Community

Here’s What That Means in Practice.

Six direct benefits to your community — on a clear, phased timeline that your community controls.

Own Your Energy Infrastructure

Start saving from day one and transition to full ownership. This isn’t a lease. The asset and the income belong to your community.

Lower Electricity Bills

Local solar generation reduces what your community pays for electricity at municipal facilities — starting from day one.

Generate Community Revenue

After investors are repaid, your community earns multi-million dollars over the 20-year asset lifespan — revenue your community decides how to spend.

Meet Your Carbon Goals

Clean local generation closes the gap between your Net Zero commitments and the capital available to reach them.

Stay Resilient

Critical facilities stay powered during grid outages. Fire stations, water treatment, schools as shelters — emergency services keep running.

Siting That Works for Your Community

Balance performance, financial returns, and environmental priorities — with siting that respects the character of your community.

See If Your Community Is a Fit → Learn About the Initiative

Things You Should Know

The Questions We Hear Most.

Safety

Proven, Safe Technology?

The same commercial-grade systems used by hospitals and military installations. Full safety documentation is delivered as part of the feasibility package.

Community Character

Designed To Work With Local Aesthetic?

Visual impact studies and community input on placement shape every siting decision. Infrastructure is designed to blend into the character of New England communities.

Property Values

Sited On The Right Land?

HERO Hubs are sited on municipally owned or leased land — rooftops, parking canopies, municipal facilities, and utility or DPW properties along with appropriate unused parcels. Where additional land is needed, underutilized agricultural land with a willing landowner can be a natural fit, often supporting continued agricultural use alongside the installation.

Sound

Quiet Enough To Be a Good Neighbor?

Solar panels produce no sound. Battery storage systems generate low-level ambient noise — comparable to a residential HVAC unit — and are sited and screened to meet local standards. Noise assessments are included in the feasibility package.

Local Benefit

Better Than The Alternatives?

The alternative is out-of-town, utility-scale development that extracts value from your community. HERO Hubs keep the asset, the revenue, and the decisions local.

Learn About Community Engagement →

Federally Recognized Model

A Replicable Model for Community Energy Infrastructure.

NextGen Energy — the developer behind Keep Lights On MA™ — has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy for its work transitioning the HERO Hub model into a replicable national approach.

The Keep Lights On MA initiative is that model in action — a Massachusetts demonstration designed to be followed by communities everywhere.

Learn About NextGen Energy →

U.S. Department of Energy recognition of the HERO Hub model