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    Standard Solar acquires PV + Battery Storage project to power Water District in Mass

    May 4, 2023
    This project is the second solar installation Standard Solar owns and operates for the Acton Water District. The first is the 4.7 MW solar and 4 MWh storage Lawsbrook Project, also developed by EDF Renewables
    Image credit Standard Solar
    Acton Solar 6453d59c72825

    A water treatment plant in Massachusetts soon will have on-site power from a solar and energy storage project generating carbon-free electricity in a project being acquired by Standard Solar.

    Developer EDF Renewables North America is selling the Knox Solar + Storage project to Standard Solar as the new long-term owner. Once operational, Knox will power the Acton Water District’s microfiltration treatment plant, which is the infrastructure entity’s largest electrical load.

    This project is the second solar installation Standard Solar owns and operates for the Acton Water District. The first is the 4.7 MW solar and 4-MWh storage Lawsbrook Project, also developed by EDF Renewables.

    “We’re proud to continue our partnerships with EDF Renewables and the Acton Water District to accelerate solar + storage deployment in Massachusetts,” said Eric Partyka, Director of Business Development, Standard Solar. “The Knox project is the latest in a series that demonstrates our continued growth in Massachusetts and around the U.S. We look forward to adding many more projects like this one that helps save energy costs and meet sustainability goals in 2023 and beyond.”

    The system is expected to generate approximately 1,872 MWh of carbon-free energy each year, enough to power nearly 200 Massachusetts homes for one year and offset the carbon dioxide equivalent of burning more than 700 tons of coal in one year.

    The Knox project is part of Standard Solar’s rapidly expanding portfolio in Massachusetts and the U.S. It currently owns and operates nearly 20 MW in the state and 300 MW of commercial and community solar projects throughout the United States.

    Standard Solar also has developed or is developing several solar and renewable projects across New England. One year ago, it announced a collaboration with Acadia Energy to build a 7.5-MW solar farm supporting an industrial park in Fort Fairfield, Maine.

    The firm also expanded its Rhode Island footprint earlier this year by acquiring a 4.9-MW community solar project there.

    Water districts, transit systems and other municipal or public groups are increasingly choosing microgrid and distributed energy resource options. Bell County's water district in Texas invested in a gas-fired generator, 10-MW microgrid system with provider RPower earlier this year. 

    West Harris County Regional Water Authority, also in Texas, selected Enchanted Rock to build on-site power for water pump stations. 

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    About the Author

    Rod Walton, EnergyTech Managing Editor | Senior Editor

    For EnergyTech editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].

    Rod Walton has spent 15 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. He formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    Walton earned his Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. His career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

    He was named Managing Editor for Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech starting July 1, 2023

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.

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