SunShare and CSolPower, a local community solar company, have completed two community solar gardens in New Mexico.
A ribbon cutting event at the Juniper Sol Community Solar Garden
The 6-MW Juniper Sol Community Solar Garden is sited on 31 acres in Santa Fe and will incorporate agrivoltaic practices, including native, pollinator-friendly habitats under and around the solar panels. Half of the solar garden subscribers are income-qualified, some of whom reside in SunShare’s affordable housing partnerships with Yes! Housing and Catholic Charities. The second array is the 4.5-MW Rockhound Sol Community Solar Garden in Deming, New Mexico.
“Our nation’s electricity needs are rapidly growing, and the Juniper Sol project demonstrates how community-based solar can cost-effectively and quickly meet that demand. At the same time, these types of projects bring wide-ranging benefits, such as to the 2,000 families who are saving on electricity costs for the next 25 years with their subscriptions to this garden,” said David Amster-Olszewski, CEO and Founder of SunShare. “As we celebrate SunShare’s 15th anniversary with this dedication of Santa Fe County’s first community solar garden, SunShare is as committed as ever to advancing a clean and distributed renewable energy future.”
As part of its commitment to enhancing the lives of the communities in which it operates, SunShare also announced it has committed more than $7 million in donations to Navajo Technical University, the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women, and Habitat for Humanity.
News item from SunShare