Worcester Business Journal

Can merchants get up to snuff with EMV? 35 Four tips to adopting the new point-of-sale payment standard. WBJ >> To Subscribe Central Massachusetts' Source for Business News August 31, 2015 Volume 26 Number 19 www.wbjournal.com $2.00 Shop Talk 8 Growing home sales keeping banks busy Lower down payments seen as boost to purchases. BY SAM BONACCI Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer 7 Is solar ready to ease its reliance on state money? Scenes from three top tourist destinations in Central Massachusetts — from top — Old Sturbridge Village, Southwick 's Zoo and the Hanover Theatre for the Per forming Arts. >> Continued on Page 34 Regional approach through new organization seen as potential economic development boost Meet tomorrow's business leaders It's one of our most widely read issues of the year: our annual selection of 40 up-and-coming business leaders in Central Massachusetts. Read all about our 16th annual 40 Under Forty class, starting on Page 10. One for all, all for tourism T h e C e nt r a l Ma s s a c hu s e tt s Convention and Visitors Bureau is dead. Will its successor, the Worcester Regional Visitors and Tourism Corp., pump more life into the region's tourism industry? Much of the attention surrounding the state legislature's decision to defund one visitors agency and replace it with another under the direction of Christina Andreoli , vice president at the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce has centered on how the old orga- nization was defunded. However, beyond how that happened — bureau staff saying they were unaware of the impending change — the new organization brings with it not only a substan- tial shift for tourism efforts in the area, but also highlights an overall boost for collaboration among economic development organizations. The new organization represents an oppor- tunity for many communities in Central Massachusetts that had stopped supporting the bureau over the years. For instance, Destination BY LIVIA GERSHON Special to the Worcester Business Journal In 2009, the total installed capacity of Massachusetts solar panels stood at less than 10 megawatts, according to the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources. Earlier this year, the number hit 841 MW. Meanwhile, between 2009 and 2014, the price of small solar arrays installed on resi- dential or busi- ness rooftops was cut in half as global prices for solar panels fell, according to a recent federal report. Massachusetts has long been one of the strongest supporters of solar development, offer- ing various incentives to encourage families and businesses to put up solar panels. Now, though, some are asking whether the solar industry has come so far that it no longer needs nudging from the government. A new plan put forward by Gov. Charlie Baker contin- ues offering strong support for the industry, for the moment. But it raises serious questions about how much the state will incentivize solar in the longer term. Meanwhile, the federal tax credit for solar installations is set to expire at the end of 2016, and no one knows whether it will be renewed again, as it has been in past years. "We're pleased that the governor has engaged and is looking to move the ball forward," said Evan Dube, director of public policy for Sunrun, a California- based residential solar installation company that opened a new office in Marlborough this month. "We certainly look forward to engaging with him." Scott Howe, a partner with Hopkinton-based solar installer Solect, said the costs of solar production have come down so far that, depending how >> Continued on Page 9 Mark Durrenberger of New England Clean Energy: Oil and gas, like solar, still get government help. Q&A with Mary Lou Retelle, president of Anna Maria College. P H O T O S / C O U R T E S Y

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