Citizens Energy has celebrated the completion of a 6-MW community solar project in New York.
“We are the national leader in community solar development because we believe the shared solar model addresses the two most fundamental issues that our country is facing — climate change and economic inequality,” said Citizens Energy VP Michael Kennedy, nephew of Citizens Energy Chairman Joseph P. Kennedy II, the former Massachusetts Congressman who founded the non-profit in 1979 and still oversees the Boston-based company. “Until the advent of community solar, joining the green revolution was beyond the means of too many people. This program is about changing that and moving towards a greener, more equitable future.”
The 40-acre solar installation in Chenango, New York, will generate electricity savings for 320 residential ratepayers who subscribe to Citizens Energy’s innovative JOE-4-SUN program. Subscribers receive a 20% discount on clean, renewable energy and will save about $200 each year.
“Citizens Energy Corporation worked with the Town of Chenango, through the town’s processes, to successfully launch a state-of-the-art solar site within the town boundaries,” said Chenango Town Supervisor Jo Anne Klenovic. “The town board is pleased to have an innovative business like Citizens Energy leading the way for other companies to realize the potential of economic development in Chenango.”
The 16,600-panel array was made possible by a grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) through NY-Sun, Governor Cuomo’s $1 billion initiative to advance the scale-up of solar and move the state closer to having a sustainable, self-sufficient solar industry. The project is the second one owned and operated by the non-profit in New York State. The first is a 1.4-MW array also developed in partnership with NYSERDA, in Barneveld, which provides $30,000 in annual savings to the local non-profit Upstate Cerebral Palsy.
News item from Citizens Energy
