Solar  -  October 28, 2021

100 MW of Community Solar Planned for New York and Massachusetts

A project that will see 100 MW of community solar installed across the Northeast is now underway in ​​New York and Massachusetts.

Amp announced Oct. 27 that it broke ground on 11 projects in New York including 75 MW of solar and 27 MWh of battery energy storage that will provide electricity to participating subscribers. In Massachusetts, the company is installing 20 MW of solar paired with 24 MWh of battery energy storage that will provide bill credits to subscribers with the batteries participating in the ISO-NE wholesale services markets.

“This set of projects marks Amp's largest assemblage of concurrent community solar projects in the US to date, and represents more than $230M in project investment,” Jared Donald, executive vice president and head of Amp's US operations, said in a statement. “As we approach the close-out of these projects, the team is preparing to start construction on a similarly-sized portfolio of New York and Massachusetts assets that will be completed next year, while we continue to look for new project opportunities in these states.”

Amp plans to work with Eden Renewables on completing biodiversity and ecological enhancements at five of these sites. They are also partnering with home improvement retailer Lowes and Hannaford Supermarkets in New York and Massachusetts, as well as the University of Rochester, on using the new projects to offset their electricity costs.

New York State is currently pursuing a target to install 10 GW of solar capacity by 2030. In addition to supporting this target, the projects will also allow local farmers to maximize or repurpose their land while creating hundreds of local jobs.