Lake Plympton, Massachusetts solar array.
BlueWave Solar of Massachusetts, along with financing partners MS Solar Solutions Corp and National Bank of Arizona announced the completion of a 1.371-MW DC community solar project on Lake Street in Plympton, Massachusetts. Known as the Lake Street project, this solar array will produce local, clean energy and generate long term electricity savings for residents, small businesses and a public water district in Southeastern Massachusetts.
As a community solar leader in Massachusetts, BlueWave developed the first two community solar projects in the Commonwealth. The Lake Street project will add to the 30 MW of community solar BlueWave has completed to date. As a result of this success, BlueWave has gained over 1,000 community solar customers. In addition to developing and owning community solar, BlueWave has developed a proprietary Solar Management Platform (SMP) to manage its Community Solar Share customers’ experience.
“BlueWave’s mission to provide ‘Solar for the 100%’ is being further realized through the Lake Street project,” said Trevor Hardy, CEO of BlueWave. “Whether through our development and ownership of solar projects, acquisition of large offtakers, or through our Community Solar Share product or Home Solar Loan, we are providing access to clean, locally generated electricity at a savings to residents, small businesses, public entities and private/non-profit organizations across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.”
Covering approximately 7 acres of a 42-acre site, the Lake Street project will enable the retention of the remaining upland acreage for agricultural use, reduce carbon emissions by 1,253 tons annually, generate local tax revenue for the Town of Plympton and support the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ clean energy and climate goals.
Residents and small businesses will receive clean, affordable power from this local project in the form of net metering credits (“Shares”) as part of BlueWave’s Community Solar Share program. Seventy homes and businesses have signed up to receive community solar shares from the Lake Street project, resulting in saving 10% on their monthly electricity bills. In addition, the Oak Bluffs Water District is the “anchor” offtaker for this project. As anchor offtaker, the Oak Bluffs Water District has contracted for approximately 400 kW DC of solar net metering credits. As a result, the Oak Bluffs Water District is furthering its sustainability goals while reducing their electricity costs and ultimately their rate-payer’s costs, with overall annual savings of approximately $12,500 a year.
“Oak Bluffs Water District is very happy to be saving on our electricity costs which directly benefits our rate payers,” said Kevin Johnson, Oak Bluffs water district superintendent.
As one of the two BlueWave community solar projects in Southeastern Massachusetts (the other being BlueWave’s Mill Road project in Fairhaven), the Lake Street project has been under development with landowners Pam and Charlie Burns since 2014. In June of 2016 site preparations began and mechanical completion of the project was achieved in November of 2016. Approximately 30 local people were employed by this project in areas including development, construction, permitting, engineering, electrical, land use and legal. In developing this project, BlueWave, along with the engineering, procurement and construction contractor Pro-Tech Energy Solutions of Moorestown, New Jersey, civil engineer Flaherty & Stefani and wetlands consultant Brad Holmes and the local utility, Eversource, took great care to ensure that the local ecosystem, land characteristics and long-term land value were protected. BlueWave and its partners worked closely with the property owners, the Town of Plympton and their planning, conservation and public safety officials on permitting, access and wetlands issues.
News item from BlueWave Solar