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ADAMS, MASS. (November 12, 2015) – Clean Energy Collective (CEC), the nation’s leading community shared solar developer, announced today that its 1.3 megawatt (MW) roofless community shared solar facility located in Adams, Mass. is now 100% reserved. The 5,200-panel solar PV facility will generate more than 1.64 million kilowatt hours of clean power each year, serving several hundred National Grid (NGRID) residential and commercial customers. The facility is fully constructed and awaiting interconnection to the grid by the local utility, which is expected before the end of the year. The sellout illustrates the strong demand for affordable clean power among Massachusetts home owners and small businesses.
The Adams Community Solar Array may represent one of the last opportunities to participate in community shared solar, which credits program participants on their monthly electric bill for the power produced by the shared system. The Adams array is the third shared solar facility CEC has built and sold out in the state, along with two other projects located in the NGRID WCMA and SEMA territories. While three additional projects within the current net metering cap limits are fully constructed in Uxbridge, MA and awaiting interconnection by NGRID, they are already over 50% reserved. Only 1.1 MW of available capacity remains, enough for approximately 140 residential customers to participate.
“Uxbridge is proud to host a number of community shared solar projects. We have seen in practice the benefits these projects bring to our town in terms of tax revenue and jobs, and are pleased to facilitate the opportunity for our residents and businesses to choose affordable clean energy,” said David Genereux, Uxbridge Town Manager. “With several more solar projects currently in the development stages in Uxbridge, we hope to see our representatives in the State House act soon to allow those projects to move forward.”
The availability and continued growth of community shared solar within the NGRID territories in Massachusetts is contingent upon the state raising the current cap on net metering. Without the increase, no additional community solar can be developed, effectively bringing to an end the availability of community solar for residential and small business ratepayers in the market.
CEC alone has an additional 22 MW of community shared solar capacity in the late-stage development pipeline to serve the growing demand. Many of these arrays have already been earmarked for interested customers, but will not be built unless the cap is lifted. Consequently, families and businesses sit on waitlists uncertain whether or not they will even have the opportunity to participate. Lawmakers have until November 18 to raise the net metering cap before they break for the winter. Without action by next week, Clean Energy Collective’s Uxbridge projects will be among the last community shared solar facilities available to residential and small business customers in the NGRID service area.
“Massachusetts’ ratepayers have made it clear that they value affordable and accessible clean energy,” said Tom Sweeney, CEC’s Chief Strategic Markets Officer. “Community shared solar provides customers with the energy solutions they’re looking for; however we now face a situation where, due to the NGRID net metering cap, our ability to offer such programs is significantly constrained.”
Commercial and municipal entities interested in saving through net metering credits can contact CEC’s at 857-259-5415.
About Clean Energy Collective
A solar tech start-up in 2009, Clean Energy Collective (CEC) has grown to become the world’s leading developer of Roofless Community Solar solutions. CEC pioneered the model of delivering clean power-generation through medium-scale solar PV facilities accessible to all utility customers. Since establishing the first community-owned solar array in the country in 2010 near El Jebel, Colorado, CEC has built or has under development more than 90 Roofless Community Solar projects with 25 utility partners across 11 states, serving thousands of customers, and representing more than 160 MW of community solar capacity.
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