OVERVIEW

The past meets the future at historic Saxonville Mills in Framingham, MA as Creative Development Co., SolarFlair Energy, Inc. and Brookline Bank team up to install a 498KW PV solar energy system. Saxonville Mills, originally built in 1884 as a textile mill, was remodeled into commercial building space during the 1970’s. The mill is host to a wide range of tenants including high-tech, retail and studio artists. Now Creative Development Co., owner of Saxonville Mills, is updating the 19th century buildings with 21st century technology to generate electricity using renewable energy from the sun.

Creative Development Co. owns and operates office and warehouse space throughout Eastern Massachusetts. Founded in 1970, the company specializes in modernizing historic spaces for contemporary commercial use. Their diverse portfolio of property attracts many types and sizes of Massachusetts businesses. Creative Development maintains offices in Framingham and Newton Upper Falls.

SolarFlair Energy, a Framingham based company, designed and installed the turn-key system. Upon completion, this was the largest solar energy installation in the Framingham area. The solar panels will be mounted on three of the mill’s nine buildings. One of the buildings (number seven) dates back to the early 1800’s. Each year approximately 391,000 pounds of CO₂ will be offset by this renewable energy system. This much clean energy is the equivalent of planting 889 trees, flying 30,500 miles in an airplane, or driving 18,867 miles in an SUV each year.

Creative Development Co. will benefit from the ARRA Federal Stimulus 1603 Treasury Grant and the Massachusetts Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC) program. The 1603 Grant will cover 30% of the project cost and will be paid within 60 days of project completion. In addition, for each KWh produced by the PV system, Creative Development will save 14 cents in avoided electric utility cost PLUS they’ll earn an SREC which can be sold to electric utilities needing to meet state renewable energy mandates. Over the next 10 years the SREC market projects to add between 30 cents and 60 cents to the value of each KWh of electricity produced, dramatically reducing payback periods and improving the return on investment for solar system owners. SolarFlair Energy will advise Creative Development Co. throughout the project life-cycle including design, installation, coordination with the utility company and SREC brokers. Both companies are generating employment opportunities for our State in a sustainable manner.

A spring ribbon cutting ceremony is planned at the historic mill buildings’ new solar energy installation to celebrate bringing Massachusetts one step closer to a renewable energy future.