On a recent episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell was joined by our own Jeannie Oliver, vice president of ROC-NH & energy solutions, who explained the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund's unique approach to creating energy solutions for local resident-owned communities (ROCs). Farrell is the Energy Democracy Director at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, which produces the podcast.

“The work that’s happening in New Hampshire is amazing, not just for the fact that it’s bringing solar to communities that are otherwise often underserved or have high energy burdens, but also that it is sort of a pioneering integration with cooperative ownership models and community decision making,” Farrell said. 

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.

Low- and moderate-income New Hampshire residents spend a higher-than-average percentage of their income on energy than others. Energy efficiency and other innovative energy solutions can help stabilize costs.

New Hampshire leads the nation in ROC-based community solar projects. We’ve already completed three: Mascoma Meadows in Lebanon (the first solar-producing ROC in N.H.), White Rock Estates in Tilton, and Pine Hill in Conway. 

Oliver highlighted why community solar is such a good fit for ROCs.

“[T]his isn’t true of some of the newer homes, but for the most part, manufactured homes aren’t built to have rooftop solar,” Oliver explained. “The roof structure can’t take the additional load. And this is especially true in the Northeast where we have snow load to account for as well… So we had to look for a different solution for manufactured housing parks.”

Creating community solar projects in collaboration with ROCs is a complex process.

"Just thinking about the cooperative structure and resident-owned communities, their board of directors are volunteer boards, often, they’re working full-time jobs as well, trying to make the administration of these projects as small as possible because these are busy people," Oliver said. "So you don’t want the energy project to be a burden. You want it to be a benefit. The easier it is to administer, the more of a benefit it’s seen as."

But, the partnership also has many benefits over conventional community solar projects.

“Then the ROC structure itself works really well for managing off-takers,” she said. With a ROC, you have a structure in place where that management and administration, it’s already happening for other reasons. And so it just makes it a little more simple.”

Oliver said ROCs often have land available to do a community solar project that’s scaled to their community. The projects the Community Loan Fund has worked on to date have been between 50 and 100 kilowatts on a quarter-acre to five acres.

Oliver also shared her advice for other energy solutions lenders:

“[P]ut the time in early to help inform residents and to inform the cooperative about what community solar is and what the benefits are and what kind of work is involved for them… really put in the effort and the patient work of getting community buy-in,” she said. “A community solar project should be something to celebrate in a community.”

Listen to the full episode: https://ilsr.org/articles/community-solar-in-nh-rocs-ler235/