Increasing Access to Affordable Energy Solutions with Partnership
From weatherization and energy efficiency projects to solar arrays for ROCs, the Community Loan Fund works with partner organizations to help people, businesses, and nonprofits reduce their energy costs as part of our energy solutions lending and services.
One of our longest-running partnerships created a trail-blazing solution for manufactured-home owners — and, it’s also helped the next generation of legal professionals gain valuable skills along the way.
The Vermont Law & Graduate School’s Institute for Energy and the Environment launched its Energy Clinic in 2014 to introduce students to the practical aspects of real-world energy projects and to provide services to community groups interested in local ownership of energy resources.
By 2016, professors and students were ready to help resident-owned communities (ROCs) increase their access to affordable energy solutions.
“This partnership breaks down barriers to community solar access while providing vital hands-on learning for the next generation,” said Genevieve Byrne, assistant professor and staff attorney at the Institute for Energy and the Environment, Vermont Law & Graduate School.
Since then, we’ve worked together to develop solar arrays at three manufactured-home communities: Mascoma Meadows in Lebanon (the first solar-producing ROC in N.H.), White Rock Estates in Tilton, and Pine Hill in Conway. Three others are under development at ROCs in Plymouth, Northfield, and Stratham.
Now, New Hampshire leads the nation in ROC-based community solar projects.
Low- and moderate-income New Hampshire residents spend a higher-than-average percentage of their income on energy than others. Community solar power can help stabilize their costs.
Jeannie Oliver, VP of ROC NH & Energy Solutions at the Community Loan Fund, recently explained how the partnership was developed and why we’re grateful to the Vermont Law & Graduate School for helping our ROCs become more resilient in this Q&A.
Question: When did the partnership begin between resident-owned communities and the Energy Clinic?
Jeannie: The partnership started around 2016. Kevin Porter, who was with ROC USA at the time, reached out to the Energy Clinic to ask if they could develop a ROC solar how-to guide including topics such as funding and financing community solar, permitting, and other regulatory considerations. He was interested in exploring how ROCs could benefit from energy opportunities and thought that ROCs might offer some unique solutions to some of the barriers facing low-moderate income communities.
The Energy Clinic began researching and quickly realized that it would require a separate guide for each state since solar regulations are state- (and sometimes even region- or municipality-) specific.
Q: How did the Community Loan Fund get involved?
Jeannie: First, the Energy Clinic connected with the Community Loan Fund and learned about New Hampshire’s new Low-Moderate Income Community Solar grant program funded by the Renewable Energy Fund that was administered, at the time, by the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission (it’s now administered by the N.H. Department of Energy).
Then, the Energy Clinic worked with ROC-NH to identify a ROC community that would be a good candidate to pilot the new program. Mascoma Meadows Cooperative was chosen due to a combination of factors — proximity to the law school, an excellent board of directors and strong community engagement, positive relationships with adjoining property owners and a good solar site, and town support for solar projects.
The Energy Clinic connected Mascoma Meadows to a local attorney — Eli Emmerson of Primmer Piper Eggleston & Cramer — who worked with the Energy Clinic to provide legal services.
We also helped the Energy Clinic learn about ROCs and ROC governance, which enabled the Energy Clinic to develop the first ROC community solar model.
By 2018, Mascoma Meadows was successful in getting one of the first-ever state Renewable Energy Fund grants for LMI community solar and worked with ReVision to install its 100 kW community solar array.
Q: How did the Community Loan Fund get involved?
Jeannie: First, the Energy Clinic connected with the Community Loan Fund and learned about New Hampshire’s new Low-Moderate Income Community Solar grant program funded by the Renewable Energy Fund that was administered, at the time, by the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission (it’s now administered by the N.H. Department of Energy).
Then, the Energy Clinic worked with ROC-NH to identify a ROC community that would be a good candidate to pilot the new program. Mascoma Meadows Cooperative was chosen due to a combination of factors — proximity to the law school, an excellent board of directors and strong community engagement, positive relationships with adjoining property owners and a good solar site, and town support for solar projects.
There were many other partners too: the Energy Clinic connected Mascoma Meadows to a local attorney — Eli Emmerson of Primmer Piper Eggleston & Cramer — who worked with the Energy Clinic to provide legal services. The neighboring Abundant Life Church of God donated the land.
We also helped the Energy Clinic learn about ROCs and ROC governance, which enabled the Energy Clinic to develop the first ROC community solar model.
By 2018, Mascoma Meadows was successful in getting one of the first-ever state Renewable Energy Fund grants for LMI community solar and worked with ReVision to install its 100 kW community solar array.
Q: What’s happened since then?
Jeannie: Based on the success of the Mascoma Meadows project, the Energy Clinic continued to collaborate with us to identify ROC communities which would be good candidates for community solar projects.
In addition, we jointly collaborated with legislators to pass legislation for the LMI Adder and engage in rule making at the PUC and NH Department of Energy to support LMI community solar.
Q: Why do you think the partnership has been so successful?
Jeannie: The Energy Clinic has made it possible to affordably implement ROC community solar projects by providing their energy regulation expertise and legal services to ROC communities pro bono. The Energy Clinic led the development of the ROC community solar model which we have worked together to refine, improve, and scale to reach more communities. To be successful, ROC community solar projects require a range of partnerships to provide a variety of technical assistance. The legal technical assistance provided by the Energy Clinic is a key component of the program’s success.
We are mutually committed to community resilience. ROC community solar projects help our communities to be more self-reliant and financially stable. The Energy Clinic and ROC-NH have worked together with solar developers, state agencies, and ROC communities to overcome the many barriers to low-moderate income communities having access to energy opportunities and the corresponding benefits.
“This partnership breaks down barriers to community solar access while providing vital hands-on learning for the next generation." said Genevieve Byrne, assistant professor and staff Attorney at the Institute for Energy and the Environment, Vermont Law & Graduate School.