How Does Community Solar Work?
Dear Friends, Visitors/Viewers/Readers,
(Please click on red links below)
Since our Aug. 1, 2013 post, there’s been quite a few people asking questions about some basic mechanics in how Community Solar Garden works. I’d like to direct you to the page on Start A Community Solar Garden/Farm under the Information section at www.sunisthefuture.net. I would also like to share another video clip that will help with this explanation, below.
Our research and interviews suggest that CEC (Clean Energy Collective)‘s community solar model leverages economies of scale, along with fully maintained array for maximum power production, to deliver very low price for renewable energy. This would allow consumers/purchasers to bypass the research, construction, maintenance, and ongoing repair of building a costly system of their own. It would also allow renters and owners of poorly sighted properties for solar to participate.
This is why community solar (gardens/farms) is important in spreading the solar energy use (Sources: NREL, DOE, IREC, HUD)
Furthermore, as long as they stay within the region serviced by the same utility company, there is the flexibility of having their bill credits move with them. If purchasers need to move out of the region, they may sell their panels any time.
I found that CEC also had been partnering with SunFarm to establish Vermont’s first community-owned solar garden at Putney, VT, the Putney Community Solar Array (or SunFarm Community Solar), a 147 kW & 588-panel photovoltaic system servicing Green Mountain Power (GMP) utility customers. Solar panel owners in the Putney Community Solar Array will receive all available rebates and tax incentives, as if the system were located on their roof, and will be credited for the power their panels produced on their monthly GMP electric bills. Each panel in the Putney Community Solar Array costs $813 and is expected to pay for itself in about 10-12 years; but owners of the panels will be able to continue receiving power from these solar panels for as long as 50 years or more. To date, over half of the array have been reserved and each of the panel owners will see a power credit on their utility bill as soon as the array goes online this month (August of 2013).
More information on the Putney Community Solar Array: www.VTSolarGardens.com , email: info@VTSolarGardens.com, or (802) 536-4471.
For more information on Clean Energy Collective: www.easycleanenergy.com or (800)-646-0323.
The future looks bright for solar energy as more and more of these community solar gardens will be springing up throughout our planet earth. What are you/we waiting for? Let’s start planting our community solar gardens!
~have a bright and sunny day~
gathered, written, and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker
any of your comments and suggestions will be welcomed at sunisthefuture@gmail.com
Homepage: http://www.sunisthefuture.net
Tags: Clean Energy Collective, community solar, community solar garden, DOE, energy, GMP, Green Mountain Power utility, grid, HUD, IREC, NREL, Paul Spencer, Putney Community Solar Array, renewable, solar, Sun Is The Future, SunFarm, sunisthefuture.net, susan sun nunamaker