Second phase of project will deploy 1 MW land-based system in Southborough, MA
SOUTHBOROUGH, MA – Capital Group Properties, a property management and real estate development firm, has selected Solect Energy Development to roll out renewable solar energy systems across its portfolio of properties in the MetroWest Boston area. One of the projects is the largest of its kind to date in the MetroWest area.
Motivated by its desire to help the environment, control facility and tenant costs, and by the availability of attractive state and federal incentive programs, Capital Group Properties is following through on one of its guiding principles to “Conserve energy and protect the environment in our building practices,” said Bill Depietri, principal at Capital Group Properties.
The project’s first installation was at the company’s office and light industrial location at 100 Discovery Way in Acton. The property now has a new roof and is powered with a 140 KW solar photovoltaic (PV) electric solution. Solect worked with the team at Capital to develop the system to meet its need of reducing common property costs, such as parking lot lights. Capital owns the solar system, which is connected to their “house” electric meter at 100 Discovery Way. The company uses Net Metering – i.e., receiving “credit” for electricity generated in excess of what is consumed — to offset their total common costs and some tenant use.
“We chose Solect due to their approach in understanding our property management needs and leveraged their solar expertise to help pull together a clean energy solution that met our operational and financial requirement,” said Doug Freeman, principal at Capital Group Properties.
The next phase for Capital involves a project approximately seven times the size of the one in Acton; at 1 megawatts, the land-based system at 150 Cordaville Rd. in Southborough, MA (near the intersections of Routes 9 and 85) will be the largest such system in the MetroWest area.
Capital intends to cover 100% of the local common area electric usage at 150 Cordaville Rd., and the excess generation will be used to satisfy the common area electrical costs at other buildings in the Capital Group portfolio. The company is using an approved process that allows a solar system owner to produce electricity at one location and virtually transfer the benefit of the production to another location under common ownership.
“Capital Group Properties is creating a model which other property management firms and property owners can embrace,” said Jim Dumas, principal at Solect Energy Development. “Their commitment toward protecting the environment by using renewable solar energy is commendable. And because they were able to take advantage of federal and state incentives, a project of this size became financially and operationally feasible as well.”
The Southborough project has been worked on collaboratively with several Town of Southborough departments, including the Conservation Commission, Assessor’s Office, and Building Department, as well as the National Grid engineering team, to arrive at a technically and environmentally sound solution. Slated to break ground this spring with approximately 4,000 panels installed over 5 acres, the system will produce enough electricity to power close to 150 homes and equal the carbon sequestered from approximately 20,000 trees grown for 10 years.
