Free Solar Energy Assistance Now Available from SEVCA’s Community Solar for Community Action project
Southeastern Vermont Community Action’s (SEVCA’s) new 110 kW solar array, located at its Westminster office, is now complete, and the organization will soon be selecting approximately 50 households with low incomes and high energy burdens to receive free credits from the power produced by the array. Households in Windham and Windsor Counties that have a Green Mountain Power account are invited to apply during an open application period up until July 15. SEVCA will then select program participants according to criteria that include household income, energy burden, and housing cost burden. The households selected will receive credits on their GMP electric bill based on the power produced by the solar array, which will reduce their electricity costs. Benefits are expected to amount to approximately $400/year per household.
SEVCA has worked in partnership for over a year with the Minnesota-based Rural Renewable Energy Alliance (RREAL) to develop this Community Solar for Community Action (CS4CA) project, as part of the national Solar in Your Community Challenge, a competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). SEVCA’s is one of several community solar projects RREAL developed during the competition period, and RREAL was awarded the runner-up prize in the competition. Catamount Solar, a Vermont-based, employee-owned solar contractor, was selected to install the array.
SEVCA’s project is expected to produce an estimated 119,500 kWh of electricity annually, and will help address the excessive energy burdens that households with low incomes face each year. Complementing its home weatherization and crisis fuel programs, CS4CA will be an important new tool in SEVCA’s efforts to ensure that all vulnerable households can meet their energy needs now and in the future.
To find out more, contact Daniel Quipp at 802 254 2795, ext. 103, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call (800) 464-9951 and speak to the receptionist.
SEVCA would like to thank all of its project supporters, including the U.S. Department of Energy, the Windham Regional Commission, the Thompson Trust, VLITE, the Vermont Community Foundation, and the dozens of other contributors who made this project possible.
August, 2019 Update: Please note that the application process has concluded and our subscribers have been selected. Thanks to everyone who showed an interest in the project! We will occasionally open up our waitlist, and will publicize this opportunity when it is available.