OVERVIEW

OMA Group, LLC contracted SolarFlair to design and build this 1 MW solar farm in Charlton, MA with a plan to sell clean renewable electricity. Net-metering in Massachusetts makes this possible, allowing them to transfer credits from one account to another. First, the panels convert light from the sun into clean, renewable electricity, then that electricity feeds into the utility grid and the production is credited at the full value of the generation and distribution charges to the account.

Two other incentives factor in to dramatically improve the payback period and return on investment, namely the ARRA Federal Stimulus 1603 Treasury Grant and the Massachusetts Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC) program. The 1603 Grant covered 30% of the project cost and the SRECs are sold to electric utilities for $285-$500 for every 1,000 kWh the system produces. The utilities purchase SRECs in order to meet state renewable energy mandates.

This installation includes Suntech STP280 solar panels and one Solectria SGI 500 inverter manufactured by Massachusetts based Solectria Renewables. These products are among the most efficient in the industry, helping this system produce over 30 million kilowatt hours (KWh) and displace more than 1,800 tons of carbon dioxide emissions during the 30 year lifetime. This is the same amount of energy needed to power 112 typical homes for 30 years or driving 5.8 million miles in a sedan.