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Connecticut — The Connecticut Green Bank is pleased to announce that Manchester, Mansfield, Portland, and Woodbridge are the first municipalities to take advantage of its Solar Marketplace Assistance Program, or Solar MAP. Solar MAP helps towns and cities navigate the process of going solar, more easily accessing renewable energy and achieving energy savings in their buildings.
The process is allowing these towns to realize all the cost-saving benefits of going solar while receiving support in every step of the process, from identifying viable sites to soliciting installation services and arranging financing. In total, 14 solar system installations will be completed in these municipalities, accounting for 3.2 megawatts of energy generation, with $3.6 million in estimated total savings.
“We understand that the process of going solar can be challenging for municipal leaders and volunteers, so we designed Solar MAP to reduce obstacles for motivated towns and cities,” said Mackey Dykes, Vice President of Financing Programs. “We are excited to move forward with these municipalities, delivering cost savings when they need them most while also reducing their impact on the environment. We are eager to support more communities and are actively seeking participants for our next round of Solar MAP.”
To complete the installation of these solar systems, the Green Bank selected Greenskies Clean Energy, a national solar developer with headquarters in North Haven, as the winner of a competitive bid process. By aggregating multiple solar PV systems across participating municipalities in its solicitation for solar developers, the Green Bank was able to achieve competitive pricing through economies of scale, realizing even greater savings for the municipalities.
“Thanks to Solar MAP, we had the opportunity to bid on projects that may have never been developed otherwise. We are delighted to partner with the Green Bank and proud to work with these municipal leaders across the state to add more solar to the grid,” commented Stanley Chin, Greenskies president and CEO.
To support Solar MAP, the Green Bank partnered with CSW Energy, who was chosen through a competitive process, to provide technical support to evaluate buildings, such as town halls, emergency services buildings, and schools, for their solar potential. The Green Bank then provides financing for the solar systems through a power purchase agreement (PPA). Since 2014, the Green Bank Solar PPA has facilitated the installation of solar on municipal buildings with no upfront installation costs, no new debt to incur, and no operations and maintenance costs. Through the PPA, the municipality purchases the electricity generated by the solar array, and locks in low electricity cost so the cash flow is positive in year one.
Municipal leaders interested in learning about Solar MAP and participation in the next round of the program are encouraged to contact the Green Bank. In addition to working with trustworthy partners, Solar MAP ensures competitive pricing and support throughout the process.
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