Plymouth, NH: NH Solar Shares announced today that Northway Bank of Plymouth has signed on to support the project with a $5,000 donation. NH Solar Shares, a subsidiary of the Plymouth Area Renewable Energy Initiative (PAREI), in partnership with the NH Electric Cooperative is building solar PV arrays for the purpose of increasing the portion of clean renewable energy on the grid, building more environmentally sustainable communities and sharing the benefits of solar energy with low income families.
These small community-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays will be built one community at a time, located on donated space, inspired by a task force of local volunteers and funded through charitable donations, a Go Fund Me campaign, business sponsors, and state and private grants. The solar PV electricity generated at each site will be credited directly to the electric bills of low income families who are interested in learning about solar energy and how to save energy in their homes.
“We are delighted to have the support of our local bank whom we all know and trust,” said Sandra Jones, Director of PAREI and Manager of NH Solar Shares. “A donation to this cause is a ‘power full’ one, it helps the environment, it increases the percentage of renewable energy on our grid and it produces a gift to our local families every hour the sun shines for the next 25 years!”
Recently NH Solar Shares completed the design for their inaugural array which will be located on the hillside behind Frosty Scoops Ice Cream Stand in Plymouth owned by the Common Man Family of Restaurants. It will be a solar picnic park that will consist of 90 solar panels installed on two wooden picnic pavilions and three steel fixed ground mount solar structures. The area will include a nature path complete with signage for historical and solar related facts. The site plan was recently approved by the Plymouth Planning Board. Some tree removal will occur above the grassy hillside to create a shady grove and to open up the solar window on the side of the property that abuts the railroad tracks.
In 2017, NH Solar Shares was awarded a $75,000 CDFA Business Tax Credit Grant which allows businesses to target a portion of their NH BET and payroll taxes to support the Solar Shares’ effort. “We owe a big thanks to all of our business sponsors including Northway Bank, Common Man, Dunkin Donuts, EVP Marketing and Media, M.E. Latulippe Construction Inc., Pemi Tree Works and Revision Energy. We hope more local businesses will take part in NH Solar Shares, with a donation of any size” said Jones. Businesses interested in pledging their support via the tax credit program should visit www.nhcdfa.org/taxcredits/current-projects or call the number below.
Interested donors, volunteers, and families wishing to participate should contact Sandra Jones, NH Solar Shares, PO Box 753 79 Highland Street Plymouth, NH 03264; 603-536-5030 [email protected] For more information visit www.nhsolarshares.org NH Solar Shares LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Plymouth Area Renewable Energy Initiative – a 501-C 3 Not for Profit Tax Exempt Charitable Organization
Photo Caption: Glen Feener, Assistant Vice President of Northway Bank presents Sandra Jones from NH Solar Shares and the Plymouth Area Renewable Energy Initiative with a $5,000 donation. Northway Bank will become a business sponsor for NH Solar Shares that builds community solar projects where the solar energy is credited to low income families’ electric bills.
