When Harvard, a small town in central Massachusetts, participated in the Solarize Mass program in 2011, more than 400kW of solar Photovoltaic (PV) panels were installed in the town of Harvard alone. But a number of residents and businesses were unable to participate because of site limitations – too much shade, a roof at the wrong angle or not able to bear the weight of panels, a renter unable to install on-site.
This situation gave rise to the the idea of a shared-ownership generation unit: the Harvard Solar Garden (HSG). Members of HSG may reside in any of the 100+ Massachusetts communities it serves. This model allows residents or businesses who cannot install solar panels on their own property to own solar electricity generating capacity. HSG is a community-shared photovoltaic (PV) solar generation unit located at a single site that allows members to use virtual net metering to receive the benefits of their off-site panels.
Since the inception and formation of the project, HSG has overcome many challenges – to be expected as a “first of its kind” endeavor. But HSG has had the support of the people of Harvard, as well as the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER), the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) and state officials, including Senator Jamie Eldridge and Representative Jen Benson (Harvard’s elected legislators).
HSG has been designed and engineered by Solar Design Associates, a Harvard, Mass., firm with more than 35 years of experience designing and engineering PV systems in Massachusetts, nationwide, and internationally. Support and guidance have also been furnished by the law firm of Nixon Peabody.
The Harvard Solar Garden (HSG) is a “community-shared” solar photovoltaic (PV) array at a single site, offering direct ownership among stakeholders in the communities it serves, and allowing owners to benefit directly from federal and state incentives. This model allows residents or businesses who cannot install solar modules on their own property to own solar electricity generating capacity. Members of HSG may reside in any of the 100+ Massachusetts communities it serves.
Representatives of the Harvard Solar Garden (HSG), the Town of Harvard, Solar Design Associates (SDA), The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER), and elected officials Senator Jamie Eldridge and Representative Jen Benson will join Massachusetts Energy Undersecretary Barbara Kates-Garnick in a celebration of the “cutting of the green ribbon” to mark the completion of the Harvard Solar Garden after two years of continued effort within local and state legislative and policy arenas.
The opening ceremony will be held at the HSG site at 285 Ayer Road, Harvard, MA 01451.
WHAT: Harvard Solar Garden Opening Ceremony
WHO: Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA),HSG, SDA, Town of Harvard, Sen. Eldridge, Rep. Benson, MassCEC, DOER
WHEN: Friday June 27, 10:00AM – 11:30AM
WHERE: HSG Installation Site 285 Ayer Road, Harvard, MA 01451
Learn more: Listen to NPR’s Living on Earth features Harvard Solar Garden