Clean energy firm Arcadia and renewable energy project developer ENGIE North America will roll out a portfolio of solar gardens under the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) program. These solar gardens will serve Commonwealth communities.
The firms will complete seven solar gardens, of which two are already online and the remainder will be commissioned by early 2022. The seven solar gardens will generate about 40 MW of renewable power for businesses, households and communities across the Commonwealth. The power generated at the solar gardens will be enough to power over 5,600 households annually.
“These seven projects are our first community solar gardens on the East Coast, and we look forward to continuing our work to make renewable energy more accessible to all,” Jacques Boonen, Head of Distributed Renewables for ENGIE North America.
"Community solar provides access to clean energy to businesses, communities, and lower-income households that cannot install rooftop solar and have been traditionally left out of the clean energy transition," added Joel Gamoran, Vice President and General Manager of Energy Services at Arcadia.
Residents, who sign up for Arcadia's community solar program, will join a local solar garden. Subscribers will get credits on their power bills when the associated solar garden generates electricity. These credits will lead to net savings of 5% to 10% and generated electricity will flow to the local power supply.
