Kingston-area businesses have teamed up to install the first Community Distributed Generation solar facility established within the eight-county service territory of Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. Through a partnership between Robert Ryan, owner of Ryan Insurance Brokers, and Heritage Solar, an affiliate of Kingston-based fuel oil and propane distributor HeritagEnergy, the new system will allow several dozen residential customers to purchase renewable energy.
“Community Distributed Generation, or CDG, offers a way for a group of residents and/or businesses to share in the electricity produced through renewable generation,” said Anthony S. Campagiorni, Central Hudson Vice President of Regulatory and Government Affairs. “Through this program, a developer may install and operate a renewable generator in one location, and contract with homes and businesses in other locations for shares of the electricity.”
He explained that each CDG must have a sponsor who owns or operates the project, organizes the membership, and interfaces with the utility. Each project must have a least 10 members, and no more than 40 percent of the electrical output may serve members with an electrical demand of 25 kW or more. The rules governing CDGs are established by state regulators.
“The CDG solar facility located on Ulster Avenue in the Town of Ulster is the first in the region, and one of the first in all of New York State,” Campagiorni said.
The 166.5 kW roof-mounted solar electric generating system is installed on a building owned by Robert Ryan, and enrolled customers of Heritage Solar are assigned shares of the electricity produced by the system for a monthly fee. The electric output is allocated based upon an agreement between the customers and the developers, and a credit for the value of the energy produced is applied to the customers’ utility bills by Central Hudson. The arrangement provides benefits for the solar developer, building owner and tenants, sponsor and participating customers.
“The roof of my building is now an investment that generates and sells electricity using solar panels,” said Robert.
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