MONTPELIER, Vt. – Vermont State Employees Credit Union said it has made an investment in clean, renewable energy that completely offsets its Green Mountain Power (GMP) electricity consumption.
VSECU reported it entered into an “innovative partnership” with solar installation and development company Soveren Solar, through which the credit union will purchase the solar net metering credits produced by a 500kW solar array to offset its GMP power bill.
According to VSECU, the partnership allows it to purchase and retire the renewable energy credits (RECs), meaning the solar energy produced by the array is 100% renewable, in contrast to RECs sold on the green power commodity market.
“We are incredibly proud of this project and worked very hard to ensure it would benefit our cooperative, the environment, and our Vermont communities,” said Rob Miller, CEO of VSECU. “This partnership is especially impactful, as it allows us to further our vision to foster social, environmental, and financial prosperity, and meet the objectives of our environmental mission. We believe this endeavor will be a model to help incentivize non-profit organizations around the country to invest in renewable energy.”
VSECU reported it worked closely with Soveren Solar to maximize the environmental impact and investment incentives, allowing both organizations to benefit from a federal tax credit for investing in renewable energy – a benefit not typically available to not-for-profit organizations like VSECU. The credit union said it will purchase the net metering credits at a discounted rate, and has the option to purchase the project after five years, adding the unique arrangement maximizes the investment potential, and VSECU expects a positive return over the life of the project.
“What makes this project so unique is that we are investing in affordable, clean energy for our not-for-profit, member-owned organization. By retiring the associated RECs, the power we are producing and consuming is truly renewable, which was very important to us,” said Laurie Fielder, VGreen program director for VSECU. “Further, working with a Vermont-based solar developer and installer, we are proud to support local clean energy jobs in the state and contribute to our state’s efforts to meet its goal of 90% renewables by 2050.”