RER Energy Group Partners with Experienced Solar Team on Village’s Array

Reading, Pennsylvania – Reading, Pennsylvania-based RER Energy Group (RER) is preparing to mark the installation of a 351.54 kW photovoltaic solar array at a water treatment facility in the village of Clifton Springs, New York. The village will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony on February 23rd, 2017.

The system is owned by AEP OnSite Partners, LLC of Columbus, Ohio, and Chief Operating Officer Joel Jansen says the Clifton Springs project was a perfect fit for their customer-centric business model. “When we heard that Clifton Springs wanted a solar project with a third-party ownership model, we were excited to work with them.” Under the arrangement, AEP OnSite Partners engaged RER Energy Group to build the array and will then sell the resulting energy to Clifton Springs.

All told, the system consists of 1,134 ground-mounted, 310-watt REC Americas photovoltaic solar panels. Together with nine Chint Power Systems America Co. inverters and a Sunlink Corporation ground-mounted, post- driven racking system, the array will produce more than 414,000 kWh of renewable energy annually. This will offset an estimated 84% of the facility’s current energy usage, resulting in cost savings to the village and its residents in excess of $400,000 over the projected 30-year life of the system.

“Clifton Springs Village enjoys a history of exploring and adopting alternative energy plans,” says Bob Raeman, Senior Project Manager with Hunt Engineers in Rochester. “I’ve worked with them as a client for more than 20 years, and I know Walt from RER Energy Group prompts immediate trust from clients, so I was eager to introduce the two.”

Ian Palmer is CEO of Annapolis-based New Energy Equity, which handled all contractual and legal responsibilities associated with the installation. He points to the project as another example of effective co-development between his firm and RER.

“We teamed with RER to bring this project through the contracting, financing, and project delivery phases as a complete transaction,” Palmer says. “The Clifton Springs installation is just one of many projects we have worked on, and it represents a successful collaboration in NYSERDA territory; RER Energy Group is an outstanding partner and co-developer.”

“We are thrilled to have helped Clifton Springs meet more than 80% of the power this facility requires by renewable means,” says RER President Jim Kurtz. “Our partnership with New Energy Equity and Hunt Engineers will save the village hundreds of thousands of dollars, while serving as a model for likeminded municipalities around the region.”

About AEP OnSite Partners, LLC
AEP OnSite Partners is the non-regulated energy solutions company affiliated with American Electric Power. AEP OnSite Partners works directly with customers, developers and government officials to deliver energy solutions based upon market knowledge, technology innovations and deal-structuring capabilities. AEP Onsite Partners targets investment in distributed solar, wind, combined heat and power, energy storage, waste heat recovery, energy efficiency, peaking generation and other forms of cost-reducing energy solutions.

About New Energy Equity
New Energy Equity specializes in developing and financing commercial renewable energy projects for public and private sector customers throughout the United States, with a primary focus on solar energy. The company develops, finances, and manages end-to-end solar transactions from initial feasibility studies and permitting through engineering, legal documentation, construction, utility interconnection, ongoing energy production, operations, and maintenance.

About Hunt Engineers
HUNT is a 125-person full-service consulting and design firm. Services to municipal, governmental, industrial/commercial, and educational clients include planning; transportation engineering; water and wastewater, mechanical/electrical/plumbing; structural design; agency approvals; technology; control systems; facilities management; land surveying; architecture; interior design; landscape architecture asbestos/lead abatement; project management; energy studies; construction administration; and cost estimating.