SITES PRIORITIZATION OF COMMERCIAL SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS USING GIS RESOURCES IN MASSACHUSETTS

ABSTRACT SITES PRIORITIZATION OF COMMERCIAL SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS USING GIS RESOURCES IN MASSACHUSETTS ZIFENG LI My summer internship at SolarFlair Energy Inc. was conducted from May 20 to August 21 in 2015, where I cooperated with two supervisors for my work; Dodge A. Travis and Daniel T. Greenwood. I was working as a Geographic Information Science analyst to help generate business and sell commercial solar panel systems. By using available GIS databases to assess viable sites for solar installations, analyzing sites using and prioritizing potential sites through multi-criteria analysis, I successfully generate business lists for a variety of towns in Massachusetts, including Boston, Springfield, Newton, Woburn, Quincy, Brookline, etc. This internship was an invaluable experience that made me familiar with the application of GIS in commercial business and enhance the GIS skills acquired from coursework. The following chapter have provided a detailed discussion of SolarFlair Energy Inc., my work and overall feelings. ________________________________ Jie Tian, Ph.D. Chief Instructo