This blog post was written by Mark Zankel, Director of Community Solar.
ReVision’s mission is to “make life better by building our just and equitable electric future.” We take pride in the 15,000+ clean energy systems our 100% employee-owned company has installed. We also fully recognize that hundreds of thousands of people across our region have been unable to participate in the clean energy transition due to the upfront costs.
Low- and moderate-income families make up 43% of U.S. households but only 15% of solar adopters, even though surveys consistently show they are just as interested in solar. Furthermore, low-income households in New England face the highest energy burden in the U.S. (energy burden = the % of household income that is used to pay for energy costs), meaning they have SO much that could be gained from access to the energy savings that come with going solar! Many also live in “environmental justice” communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis, where legacy energy infrastructure and pollution are directly impacting the health and wellbeing of people with less wealth and power.
ReVision Energy created a team that is committed to delivering the benefits of the clean energy revolution to members of our communities who have not previously had access. We call this our Solar for All team. The name is inspired by a new federal initiative established under the Inflation Reduction Act that provides $7 billion (including >$200M across ME, NH, and MA) to improve access to renewable energy for low and moderate-income communities.
One of our Solar for All projects is Regenerative Roots Association (“ReGen Roots”), a Nashua-based nonprofit working to strengthen New England's food and alternative energy systems by developing community farms, food forests, plant shares, educational orchards, solar arrays, and farm to school programs.
ReGen Roots is seeking to develop a small community solar farm that will support its mission and directly serve up to 20 low-moderate income electric households. With ReVision’s assistance in 2023, ReGen Roots secured the funding needed to build a 121 kW solar array from the NH Dept of Energy’s Low & Moderate-Income Community Solar Grant program.
Unfortunately, ReGen Roots couldn’t get the necessary local approvals to develop the solar array on land it owns in Weare, NH. And that’s where you come in! We are trying to help ReGen Roots find a suitable piece of land to allow this worthy project to move forward. The right property will be:
Due to the requirements of the NH DOE grant, we have a diminishing window of opportunity to identify a suitable property. If you know of a good candidate, please let us know by filling out this form or by emailing us at solarforall@revisionenergy.com.
