Community Solar

Community solar enables community members (subscribers) to participate in a share of a renewable energy project. Subscribers receive credits on their bill for their portion of the energy produced by the community solar system. This allows individuals, small businesses, and/or non-profit organizations to receive direct benefits, similar to on-site solar installations :

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 Abundant Energy powered by Ampion and together we are making a difference. So far:

Over 20 Houses of Worship/Religious Institutions with over 2,025,396 KWh of annual electricity usage
70 congregant referrals add another 679,895 KWh of demand!

Click here to request an info session at your HoW

For Houses of Worship (HoW) or Institutions

Downloadable resources for engaging your HoW

Letter to Faith Leaders

Presentation

Sample newsletter blurb

Ampion Community Solar FAQ

Ampion sign up walk through

also see and share experiences on our member best practices forum

Signing up takes only a few minutes, just visit

https://bluebird.portal.ampion.net/sign_up/RAICA

or call:

585 299-5966

For each new house of worship that subscribes RAICA will receive a donation that they will share with the HoW

Once your HoW signs up it will receive a donation for each member that subscribes with the promo code for your house of worship.

For households or small businesses

Each member that signs up will generate a $50 donation for their house of worship or religious institution when they use the promo code for that house of worship * (in addition to saving 10% on your utility bills and supporting local solar energy)

Click here

to find a list of promo codes for houses of worship/religious institution

Enter the promo code at

https://bluebird.portal.ampion.net/sign_up/

Click on the promo code direct link in the popup to sign up*

*If your house of worship/religious institution has not signed up then you can use the general code/link for RAICA or leave blank and someone will contact you

How Community Solar Works

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

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

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

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

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.

**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