It is the moment we’ve all been waiting for. Seriously.
/Community Solar has been on the Co-op Power To Do list because YOU wanted it! Well now you can have it!!
We now have 3 megawatts of community solar for you, the members and supporters of Co-op Power. No money down. Nothing built on your property. Available to anyone paying a NGrid or Eversource electric bill in western or central Mass. With a path to ownership after 10 years.
If the solar revolution has passed you by so far, here's your opportunity to get on board. Save 15% off your electric bill AND support community solar for all in our region!
We have expanded our Buying Group Membership to include this Community Solar offering to bring new members into the fold. It's a great time to expand our community.
This is the first time we have a valuable service that almost everyone in our network can use, where we can be bringing benefit to people in our community every month for decades to come. It's an exciting time indeed.
Three megawatts of Community Shared Solar are ready to flip the switch. This is not some far out dream or a conceptual idea. The arrays are built. Power will start flowing as soon as the utilities commission these four systems in Western Mass. And we want to be ready!
When the utility receives electricity from our arrays onto the grid, they change those kilowatt hours into net metering credits and distribute them to participating electricity accounts.
Anyone who wants to save 15% on their electric bill in NGrid and Eversource Western and Central Mass can subscribe.
Here's how it works: 1) You sign up for certain number of shares in the community solar array. 2) At the end of each month, you'll receive a credit on your electric bill that represents your portion of the kilowatt hours produced by the array. (The utility converts kilowatt hours into credits when they're placed on the grid.) 3) You'll pay Co-op Power 85% of the value of your credits through your Common Good account.
We want to fill all of these subscriptions within the next 45 days. We want you to ask you to sign up, share this email with friends that might be interested, and suggest or invite local businesses and organizations to sign up too.
Community Solar is not on your home, so you don’t need to own where you live, or have the perfect roof angle, or even cut down those lovely, carbon sequestering trees!!!
This opportunity is HERE and NOW!!! Go to our website and sign up. Our website will walk you through the sign up process.
We are very excited to announce that we're using Common Good (formerly r-Credits) as our payment processor. They provide this service for free. It's free for you to sign up. It's free for you to send Co-op Power the monthly payment for 85% of the credits we apply to your electric bill. It's free for Co-op Power to receive those funds from you. AND, you get the other benefits of being able to use your Common Good credits for other purchases while you accumulate bonus Credits based on all your transactions. I think you're going to find lots of other uses for your card once you have it!
We'll send you an email asking for a copy of a recent electric bill once you sign up. Once we receive it, we'll send you a contract with a recommended number of shares for your subscription.
All the members combined willl save more than $100,000 a year. This number will increase over time as electricity costs increase.
We will assure you a place in this program during the early enrollment period - through July 17th. After that we'll be advertising to the general public.
Please don’t just sign yourself up today, bring a friend or two and get our community growing, like the plants, by the energy of the sun.
If at least 20% of the people we're signing on qualify as low to moderate income, we can count these arrays as part of our DOE funded Sunshot projects and get us closer to winning a prize for exceeding the requirements for that award program, so please make a special effort to reach out to people you know with limited resources. After all, who needs the 15% savings the most?
There is also space for organizations and businesses who want to go solar with no money down, so feel free to sign your business up or ask your favorite local organization to participate as well. We can even help make those calls for you if you know someone who might be interested.
If you are ready to join us in getting off unsustainable energy choices and saving our members over $100,000 this coming year sign up today. Also, please consider helping to spread the word on Facebook by clicking Interested and then inviting your friends to this Event!
The only limit is that people must obtain their electricity from Eversource or National Grid in Western or Central Massachusetts. (It needs to say WCMA someone on your bill!) This opportunity is first come first served. Since the electricity is not generated on your home itself you will be receiving it in the form of net metering credits. Think of them like a CSA but from the sun, and they get delivered directly to your electricity bill.
Let’s do this together!!!
Allow Co-op Power to help you save money, strengthen our community, and be kinder to the planet by signing up today.
All the best,
Lynn Benander
President and CEO
