I Love Cows Solar with Green Mountain Power

Encore is working with Green Mountain Power (GMP) to deliver a 3MW solar project in Barre, Vermont in support of GMP’s initial efforts to develop a community solar program to reduce the energy burden for Vermonters from lower income communities. GMP was awarded funding under the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (Recovery Funding) as part of the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021. The Vermont Public Service Department was appropriated $10 million of the Recovery Funding by the 2021 Vermont General Assembly “to be used on the Affordable Community-Scale Renewable Energy Program, consistent with the parameters of the Clean Energy Development Fund, to support the creation of renewable energy projects for Vermonters with low-income.” Specifically, the grant was intended to incentivize Vermont distributed utilities to create programs that meet the following ARPA goals:

• Ameliorate the economic effects of the pandemic for those who were disproportionately affected by the pandemic through utility bill assistance
• Build a recovery that is strong, resilient, and increases equity with investments that promote growth and opportunity that have long-term effects
  Programs eligible to be supported through this RFP shall (at a minimum):
• Reduce the energy burden of low-income qualified Vermont utility customers/members through the reduction of electric utility expenses via on-bill credit(s) with minimal or no cost-shift to, or cross-subsidization by, other ratepayers.
• Increase the installed capacity and generation of renewable energy in Vermont
• Increase the availability of renewable energy to Vermonters with low-income

Encore negotiated a bilateral Power Purchase Agreement with GMP for the 3.0MWdc / 2.2 MWac solar project located in Barre, Vermont and the project is currently in active development, with commissioning expected sometime in mid 2024.