Saranac Lake residents will soon have a local source of clean energy for the community and surrounding areas. The Saranac Lake Community Solar project will provide homeowners, renters and businesses with the benefits of solar energy without the cost of equipment, installation, or maintenance.

The 2-megawatt ground-mounted solar project will be located on 10 acres of land just north of the Village. It is expected to produce over 2.3 million kilowatt-hours of clean energy annually, able to provide solar energy credits to between 200 and 250 homes and businesses. The project, made possible by a local investor, is slated to begin operation in fall of this year and once completed, will be the first community solar project within the Adirondack Park.

Subscribers can enroll in the project via a simple and straightforward online platform, which will be available in mid-March. Solar energy generated by the array will appear as credits on subscribers’ electricity bills, lowering the costs they pay to their utility for energy. Subscribers pay for their portion of solar energy through the platform, where every dollar of credit they receive from their utility costs just 90 cents. Depending on the size of their subscription, participants in the program can save up to 10 percent on their annual electricity bills.

Although subscription is available to anyone within National Grid territory, project developers are working closely with organizations such as the Adirondack Land Trust and ANCA to ensure that the benefits of the project are felt within the Adirondack region. Other local partners include the Saranac Lake Chamber of Commerce and AdkAction.

“Adirondackers are living with climate change, and Saranac Lake Community Solar gives us a way to act locally in a way that’s good for people and nature,” said Mike Carr, Executive Director of the Adirondack Land Trust. “This project is a model of how other Adirondack communities can approach renewable energy siting and generation.”

This project also received funding from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) through NY-Sun, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s signature initiative to advance the scale-up of solar and move the State closer to having a sustainable, self-sufficient solar industry and supports the Governor’s nation-leading Green New Deal, which calls for 70 percent of the state’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030.

More information about the project and community solar is available on the project website. There, you’ll be able to begin the subscription process once the enrollment platform goes live, and you can subscribe to project updates in the meantime. The project website can be found at saranaclakesolar.com.

About RER Energy Group
RER Energy Group is an industry leader in providing cost-effective, high-quality solar systems throughout the United States and Latin America. The company has developed more than 45 megawatts of solar energy, obtaining over $30 million in grant proceeds for commercial, industrial, agricultural, municipal, and non-profit customers. For more information, visit www.rerenergygroup.com.

About NYSERDA
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) promotes energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources in New York. It seeks to advance innovative energy solutions in ways that improve New York’s economy and environment.

About Adirondack Land Trust
Established in 1984, the Adirondack Land Trust works to forever conserve the forests, farmlands, waters and wild places that advance the quality of life of our communities and the ecological integrity of the Adirondacks.

About ANCA
ANCA is an independent, nonprofit corporation with a transformational approach to building prosperity across northern New York. ANCA’s community-informed, results-driven strategies for local food producers, small business owners, would-be entrepreneurs and municipal innovators offer targeted interventions that are designed to keep wealth and value in local communities.

About AdkAction
AdkAction creates projects to address unmet needs, promote vibrant communities, and preserve the character of the Adirondacks. The Adirondack Pollinator Project is a project of AdkAction that promotes the health of pollinators, critical to our food and ecosystems, by empowering people to take individual and collective action to help pollinators thrive.

About The Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce
The Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce is the community’s leading advocate for business and economic development. Its mission is to act as a catalyst for business and community development by providing services and representation for its membership and to generate economic development through promotional and marketing strategies. The chamber provides business-building initiatives that focus on the critical priorities of the Saranac Lake community.