The community solar photovoltaic project organized by the Acorn Renewable Energy Co-op is about to become a reality. The project has now received its Certificate of Public Good (CPG) from the Vermont Public Service Board as well as final approval by the board of directors at Co-operative Insurance Companies of Middlebury.

Solar panels like these will soon be installed on the hill behind the Middlebury Police Station

"We are very excited to have received the CPG as well as board approval from Co-operative Insurance," says Greg Pahl, board president of the Acorn Renewable Energy Co-op. "This gives us the green light to move forward with this exciting solar electric project."

The community solar project is a collaboration between the Energy Co-op, The Town of Middlebury and Co-operative Insurance Companies of Middlebury. Co-operative Insurance is providing $326,000 in equity financing for a 95% ownership stake in the project, and will receive one-third of the electricity produced by the solar array.

Co-operative Insurance CFO Dave Tatlock, Acorn Energy President Greg Pahl and National Bank of Middlebury President Ken Perine sign financing documents

"Our board was very positive about making the investment in renewable energy," says Dave Tatlock, Chief Financial Officer of Co-op Insurance. "As a Co-op ourselves, we like the cooperative nature of this project."

Acorn Energy Solar One LLC (AESO), the legal entity that will own the project, has secured a $165,000 loan from the Vermont Small Business Development Corp., as well as a similar sized loan from the National Bank of Middlebury to help finance the $700,000 project.

AESO worked with Encore Redevelopment of Burlington on project development activities and has also signed an agreement with Alteris Renewables, Inc. of Montpelier for construction of the 148-kilowatt project to be located to the north and slightly west of the Middlebury Police Station off Lucius Shaw Lane.

Acorn Energy President Greg Pahl and Middlebury Town Manager Bill Finger sign lease for land for solar array

In addition, AESO also formally signed a 25-year lease with the Town of Middlebury for the use of the acre of town-owned land located at the former wastewater treatment plant site that will host the group net metered, 528-panel, photovoltaic array. In return, the town will receive annual payments starting at $1,000 per year as well as one-third of the electricity generated by the array.

"We are very pleased to see this land being put to productive use in a way that will benefit the community," says Bill Finger, Middlebury's Town Manager. "We appreciate all the work that the Acorn Energy Co-op board members have put into making this project become a reality."

The ground mounted solar array is expected to generate 172,500 kilowatt hours of electricity each year-enough to provide electricity to 30 average homes, according to AESO.

The remaining third of the project's electricity output will be made available to 16 Acorn Energy Co-op members as subscribers under a group net-metering arrangement.

In order to participate, each subscriber will pay a membership fee of $2,000 which will draw interest of 2% paid annually. This will qualify the subscriber to purchase a 2% share of the array's electrical output from CVPS and receive a two cent per kWh rebate, which will be credited to their utility bill each month for 25 years. Starting in year 11, the rebate amount will increase to five cents per kWh and a portion of the membership fee will be repaid each year until the fee is fully repaid.

You must be an existing CVPS customer, and participation is limited to lifetime Acorn Energy Co-op members. Subscriber signup is on a first-come, first-served basis, and is now open. In the event of an oversubscription, the individual Energy Co-op members will be selected through a lottery, providing each of them an equal chance to participate. A more detailed description of the opportunity as well as the complete Group Net Metering Agreement and Member Signature Page can be found here.

For additional information, contact us at info@acornenergycoop.com.

The Acorn Energy Co-op Team