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Community Solar

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Community solar enables individuals, small businesses, and/or non-profit organizations to receive direct benefits, similar to on-site solar installations.  Subscribers to a community solar project receive credits on their bill for their portion of the energy produced by the community solar system.  Benefits of Community Solar: 

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  • Support Clean Energy-play an active role in displacing the need for fossil fuels that are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions and other toxic pollutants

  • Cut Energy Costs- Lower your monthly electric payments with community solar credits applied directly to your utility bill.

  • No installation Required- Zero upfront costs, no siting requirements, non-profits, renters, homeowners or small businesses with an electric bill in your name can participate​

  • Energize Your Local Economy-Support your neighbors by helping to create jobs in construction, engineering, maintenance, and development

Getting started is easy!

 

RAICA has partnered with Ampion power who has worked with: 
 

  • Over 40 Houses of Worship/Religious Institutions generate over 4GWh of renewable electricity annually
     

  • Over 107 individual congregant household to add another 5GWh annually
     

That's like taking more than 450 cars off the road each year so far -- you can join to be part of the solution!

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Click here to request an info session at your House of Worship

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For Houses of Worship (HoW) or Institutions

Sign up your house of worship to save on utility bills and earn donations.

 

To sign up your facility go to https://ampion.net/RAICA/ 

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Then to get a campaign started for congregants to sign up just contact Jim Tappon or call

(866) 244-7294 

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Downloadable resources for engaging your HoW

Letter to Faith Leaders

Presentation 

Sample newsletter blurb 

Ampion Community Solar FAQ

also see and share experiences on our member best practices forum

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For households or small businesses

Signing up your household is easy just use this link to bring up a list of participating houses of worship*,  then select your house of worship and follow the link to the appropriate sign up screen for that House of Worship

 

Each member that signs up will generate a donation for their house of worship or religious institution  (in addition to saving on your utility bills, supporting local solar energy and supporting RAICA)
 

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*If you don't see your house of worship simply select the general link under Unaffiliated

 

How Community Solar Works

1. Ampion assigns you a share of the local community solar farm based on your energy usage. 

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2. Each month, solar credits are generated on your behalf and applied directly to your RG&E bill

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3. You purchase the solar credits at a discount, saving you up to 10% on your total electricity costs

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4. Once connected, you can view your solar production, cost savings, and environmental impact with Ampion Energy’s online platform

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Your discount is locked in for as long as you participate.  You can cancel anytime with no cancellation fee

This short video from NYSERDA is a great tutorial on Community Solar

“As pastor of a church that takes stewardship and creation care seriously, I’m happy to have us be part of a program that encourages production of more clean, renewable energy – and lets our members save a bit on their bills at the same time. This is a real win-win solution for us,” says Pastor Steve Gretz of Greece Baptist Church.

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**Options for community solar outside the REG&E service area (view service area map) can be provided by BlueRock Solar, Inc. through their Western New York solar farm and Ithaca-area solar farm. For information and to register go to:

https://bluerockenergy.com/grandislandsolar/  in the National Grid service area or https://bluerockenergy.com/solarfarm/    for NYSEG customers