Innovative Program Provides Savings, Certainty for Small-Scale Solar Projects
Boston, MA, Oct. 08, 2015— PowerOptions, the state’s leading energy-buying consortium, today announced it selected solar provider Solect Energy, the leading full-service commercial-scale solar developer and installer in Massachusetts, to lead its innovative Small Systems Solar program, providing savings and certainty for entities with smaller projects.
The program builds on the success of PowerOptions’ existing Large Scale Solar program, streamlining the process with pre-negotiated, competitively priced solar power structured to capture the benefits of tax incentives for nonprofits and government entities. The program fills a clear, unmet need in the marketplace, making small to mid-scale solar projects much more accessible to nonprofits of all sizes, said PowerOptions CEO Cynthia Arcate.
In keeping with its mission to serve nonprofits, PowerOptions has committed that its members will face no up-front costs or maintenance requirements.
The new solar program provides competitively priced and pre-negotiated contract terms for solar systems less than 300 kilowatts (kW), and reflects the benefits of leveraging the potential for multiple projects across the consortium. The program will provide savings for members and a hedge against future cost increases over the life of the 20-year solar contracts.
PowerOptions chose local, Hopkinton-based Solect Energy from a strong pool of candidates, noting their experience working with nonprofits and the public sector on solar contracts, competitive pricing, and flexibility to meet PowerOptions members’ needs.
“We also chose Solect because they are a local company; many larger, national companies in this space have ridged criteria and take a cookie-cutter approach to working with customers,” said Arcate. “Solect is willing to work with us to build as many projects as possible, dealing with the uniqueness of our membership base and maximizing the potential at each location.”
“We are thrilled to have been selected by PowerOptions to serve this key segment of the nonprofit and government community in the Commonwealth,” said Ken Driscoll, founding principal and CEO at Solect Energy. “PowerOptions’ mission as a nonprofit is to serve its members with distinction, trust and innovation and we look forward to helping them serve this important segment of our economy.”
“This partnership expands the reach of our solar programs to align with the state’s current incentives with an emphasis on rooftop solar and provides our members with great opportunities for smaller-scale solar projects,” added Arcate. “Solect has a strong track record of successful work with nonprofits and public entities, and they have financial backing to provide the capital for the projects.”
PowerOptions’ program dovetails with state policy goals to target the space between residential and large commercial businesses with on-site solar options.The 20-year Solar PPA’s with Solect will provide best-in-class contracting terms for Power Options members.
About PowerOptions PowerOptions® is the largest energy buying consortium in Massachusetts, serving more than 500 nonprofit organizations and governmental entities with combined annual energy sales of roughly $175 million. With supply programs for electricity, natural gas, and solar power, PowerOptions provides its members budget certainty and savings, as well as best-in-industry consumer protections. Joining is easy—any nonprofit or public institution in Massachusetts may become a member and participate in this collective purchasing effort. For more information, visit www.poweroptions.org.
