27 min
The State of Community Solar with Terri Dalmer and Owen Grant Beyond The Meter
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- Business News
In this episode of Beyond the Meter, host John Failla is joined by Terri Dalmer, Vice President of Solar Business Development at CleanChoice Energy, and Owen Grant, Business Development Manager at Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions. They discuss the broad impact community solar can have on businesses and diverse communities nationwide. You won’t want to miss the insights and reflections they have to share from their over 30 years of experience.
This episode is made in partnership with Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions.
You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... Growth of community solar [03:52] Massachusetts’ Rowtier project [08:27] Duke Energy and CleanChoice [11:28] Requirements unique to Massachusetts [13:29] What involved Duke Energy in solar? [15:35] The benefits of community solar projects [19:25] The future of community solar [24:23] What is community solar? Community solar consists of facilities that produce less than five megawatts of electrical capacity. It allows residents, small businesses, and other organizations, such as municipalities, to receive credit on their electricity bills for the power produced by these solar arrays. It differs from residential solar in that it is an off-site project with no financial investment from a consumer and serves multiple levels of subscriber offtake.
The impressive growth of solar is due to the diligent policy work at the state level, where legislation is being supported to expand the renewable market. The dynamics of state programs are a significant influence on solar’s success. Currently, about 19 states and DC have a wide variety of programs. Some of the newest markets coming on board currently are Virginia, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania. Solar is a dynamic and growing market that offers a lot of opportunities.
Community solar projects in Massachusetts Massachusetts provides an excellent opportunity to work on ground-mount, front-of-meter projects. A nice feature of the Massachusetts program is that these projects can be operated either as community solar or by directly selling electricity to utility companies. Duke Energy found this quite an attractive project, deciding that the community solar route made more sense financially. That’s how Duke came to work with CleanChoice as a subscription management company to bring in small customers.
Duke Energy and CleanChoice Duke Energy is a best-in- class company, so they needed a best-in-class collaborator to help with their community solar pilot project. They’ve been pleased with the relationship with CleanChoice and their ability to help Duke Energy navigate the ins and outs of the community solar program’s SMART (Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target) element as well as the utility coordination. Together they’ve created a model project that other companies should consider.
One of the values of Duke Energy is serving its communities. With community solar, the benefits are kept local. It’s an opportunity for both the small and large customers in a community to participate in the project. Having a large anchor tenant allows the project to open up to customers that might not otherwise be qualified to participate in a solar project. The local element of these projects provides a kind of equity of access to renewables as part of the energy transition.
Resources & People Mentioned Solar Energy Industries Association: SEIA Alternative On-Bill Credit FAQ April 2019 Connect With Our Guests Terri Dalmer - Vice President of Solar Business Development at CleanChoice Energy
Terri Dalmer is Vice President of Solar Business Development at CleanChoice Energy, responsible for overseeing a community solar management services portfolio as well evaluating market expansion opportunities and partnerships with solar as it relates to both management services and project development. Ms. Dalmer has over 20 years of experience in the energy and commodities fields with sales roles at Morgan Stanley and Con
In this episode of Beyond the Meter, host John Failla is joined by Terri Dalmer, Vice President of Solar Business Development at CleanChoice Energy, and Owen Grant, Business Development Manager at Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions. They discuss the broad impact community solar can have on businesses and diverse communities nationwide. You won’t want to miss the insights and reflections they have to share from their over 30 years of experience.
This episode is made in partnership with Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions.
You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... Growth of community solar [03:52] Massachusetts’ Rowtier project [08:27] Duke Energy and CleanChoice [11:28] Requirements unique to Massachusetts [13:29] What involved Duke Energy in solar? [15:35] The benefits of community solar projects [19:25] The future of community solar [24:23] What is community solar? Community solar consists of facilities that produce less than five megawatts of electrical capacity. It allows residents, small businesses, and other organizations, such as municipalities, to receive credit on their electricity bills for the power produced by these solar arrays. It differs from residential solar in that it is an off-site project with no financial investment from a consumer and serves multiple levels of subscriber offtake.
The impressive growth of solar is due to the diligent policy work at the state level, where legislation is being supported to expand the renewable market. The dynamics of state programs are a significant influence on solar’s success. Currently, about 19 states and DC have a wide variety of programs. Some of the newest markets coming on board currently are Virginia, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania. Solar is a dynamic and growing market that offers a lot of opportunities.
Community solar projects in Massachusetts Massachusetts provides an excellent opportunity to work on ground-mount, front-of-meter projects. A nice feature of the Massachusetts program is that these projects can be operated either as community solar or by directly selling electricity to utility companies. Duke Energy found this quite an attractive project, deciding that the community solar route made more sense financially. That’s how Duke came to work with CleanChoice as a subscription management company to bring in small customers.
Duke Energy and CleanChoice Duke Energy is a best-in- class company, so they needed a best-in-class collaborator to help with their community solar pilot project. They’ve been pleased with the relationship with CleanChoice and their ability to help Duke Energy navigate the ins and outs of the community solar program’s SMART (Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target) element as well as the utility coordination. Together they’ve created a model project that other companies should consider.
One of the values of Duke Energy is serving its communities. With community solar, the benefits are kept local. It’s an opportunity for both the small and large customers in a community to participate in the project. Having a large anchor tenant allows the project to open up to customers that might not otherwise be qualified to participate in a solar project. The local element of these projects provides a kind of equity of access to renewables as part of the energy transition.
Resources & People Mentioned Solar Energy Industries Association: SEIA Alternative On-Bill Credit FAQ April 2019 Connect With Our Guests Terri Dalmer - Vice President of Solar Business Development at CleanChoice Energy
Terri Dalmer is Vice President of Solar Business Development at CleanChoice Energy, responsible for overseeing a community solar management services portfolio as well evaluating market expansion opportunities and partnerships with solar as it relates to both management services and project development. Ms. Dalmer has over 20 years of experience in the energy and commodities fields with sales roles at Morgan Stanley and Con
27 min