Our Fourth Project: 33.2 kW PV

Link to public monitoring

November 10, 2021: Winner of the Northeast Environmental Partnership Award!

The Northeast Environmental Partners, which is comprised of Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Pennsylvania Environmental Council, PPL Corporation, Procter & Gamble Paper Products Company, and Wilkes University announced the Stourbridge Project and the Clean Energy Coop as one of the 31st Annual Northeast Environmental Partnership Award.

December 15, 2020: It’s official! The array is in full operation. Let the sun shine!

November 24, 2020: The electrical inspector has passed the installation, so now we wait for the paperwork to get to and be approved by PPL Electric Utilities. Hopefully by end of next week we can start generating clean, renewable electricity. We are so thankful for our community and for Buselli Solutions, who have done a great job (as always). Have a happy and safe holiday everyone!

November 5, 2020: Construction has finally started after more than 18 months of planning (and re-planning)! Two of the solar panels were broken in transit, but hopefully the replacements ship asap. More pics to come as the work progresses.

September 18, 2020: Great news! Honesdale Borough has issued the construction permit for our 33.2kW solar system (latest design info in the sidebar). And we (actually Stourbridge Solar Project LLC) just put down a deposit with Buselli Solutions for them to file the interconnection application with PPL Electric, and to order the solar panels and other equipment. We’re hopefully that they’ll be able to start construction in early October, and with weather permitting, the array will be fully operational by the end of October! After more than a year of planning and re-planning, this project is finally happening!!

August 2020: New plan! The Co-op board has decided to use a somewhat common real estate and energy industry financing method for monetizing tax incentives. We have created a new Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) that will be majority owned and managed by the Co-op. This subsidiary entity — Stourbridge Solar Project LLC — will construct, own and operate the new solar array on the roof of the Stourbridge Project in Honesdale. The LLC has already successfully renegotiated the 25-year power purchase contract with Wayne County (owners of the Stourbridge building). The LLC will have an additional local business owner who will invest $15,000 (for 24% equity). But instead of getting that back in cash over the next 5+ years, that investor will be able to use most of the federal tax incentives and some depreciation benefits from the construction of this solar array. After 2025 the other investor will exit the LLC, leaving our Co-op as its sole owner. We then dissolve the LLC to take direct ownership of and continue operating the solar array. This plan allows our Co-op to proceed with this important solar project without the originally planned $17,000 in grant funding, and together with our prior project revenues, be able to pay dividends and ultimately buyback all our currently issued Preferred Shares over the next 25 years.

April 2020: We’ve been informed that our USDA grant application is unlikely to receive an award in any of the 2020 funding rounds. We are investigating other financing methods. We still hope to fully fund this project for 2020 construction.

December 2019: Nope, the USDA is delayed with any news on these grants until after the New Year. Happy Solstice and New Year!

October 2019: The Clean Energy Co-op has a 25-year contract with the Wayne County government to install a 30+kW solar array on the roof of the Stourbridge Project building on Park St. in Honesdale. We successfully submitted our grant application to the USDA Renewable Energy for America Program (REAP) and hope to will hear back with good news in late November, or no later than early December. Earlier in September we signed a  25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the Wayne County Commissioners that, together with the grant (for up to 25% of the cost) and our members' investment will enable this project to go forward, maybe before the end of the year. 

July 18, 2019: The Clean Energy Co-op and the Stourbridge Project invite you to an Open House on Tuesday, July 30th from 4 to 6pm at 648 Park St. in Honesdale.  The Open House will consist of a tour of The Stourbridge Project’s many offerings and a discussion about the Co-op’s plans to install solar there. Come out, bring your friends, enjoy some light refreshments from The Anthill Farm, Nature’s Grace and Here & Now Brewing Co, and meet with others who care about clean renewable energy.  Support your Co-op, The Stourbridge Project and help us build a more sustainable community!

Also due to new PA building codes, the planned solar PV array on the roof of the Stourbridge Project will be just 105 panels, or 31.5kW, and annually produce about 55% of the 2018 electricity used in the building. Correspondingly the total budget for this project has also been reduced to $63,000.

April 18, 2019: The Clean Energy Co-op is excited to announce another solar PV project with a downtown non-profit! This time with the Wayne County government to go on the roof of the 1928 Stourbridge Elementary School building on 646 Park Street in Honesdale, PA, which is now home to the county's technology incubator and co-working space, known as the Stourbridge Project. Earlier today, the Clean Energy Co-op Inc. and the county commissioners signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) describing a plan to design and install a solar array of approximately 115 (or 34.5kilowatts of) photovoltaic panels, with a rough cost of  $65,000, that will generate clean electricity to power about 60% of the building's 2018 usage. Susan Shaffer, director of the Stourbridge Project said, "This is an exciting partnership that embodies technology and community, and utilizing renewable energy is an investment in the future. This aligns with the mission of the Stourbridge Project and having a display to explain and monitor the solar array will be engaging for those who visit or work at our innovation center."  In the announced plan, the Co-op will entirely pay for, own, operate and maintain the solar array, and the county will buy all the electricity generated by that array for up to 25 years under an arrangement known as a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) that is to be negotiated.

Later this summer the Co-op expects to begin its capital rising effort to pay for the solar system construction, including a USDA Renewable Energy for America Program (REAP) grant application, plus additional private funds from its members. The disposition of the grant money (for up to 25%) won't be known until after October, but the Co-op is hopeful that the solar array can be constructed and operating before the end of the year.

The Stourbridge Project is a community-based initiative that transformed the former Stourbridge Elementary School in Honesdale into a business incubator/accelerator with a public co-working space. The Stourbridge Project pairs a place to work with coordinated delivery of business development services. Entrepreneurs connect to experienced mentors, educators, training programs, resources, and our business community. The goal is to create new jobs, increased commerce, investment opportunities, a connection to emerging technologies, and local businesses.