COMMUNITY SOLAR ENROLLMENT EARNS CLARKSTOWN AND ORANGETOWN LOCAL COVID-19 RELIEF FUNDS
Hudson Valley, NY (June 18, 2020)— Rockland Community Power, a program created by the Towns of Clarkstown and Orangetown, Villages of Haverstraw, Nyack, South Nyack, and Upper Nyack, in partnership with Joule Community Power, will raise money for local COVID-19 relief efforts through a new community solar offering. For each subscription to community solar, Joule will donate $50 to select local relief efforts. Municipal leaders from the Towns of Clarkstown and Orangetown are actively promoting this campaign to enable residents and small businesses to support local renewable energy generation, lower their electricity costs and help relieve those hit hardest by the pandemic.
Across the country, local organizations are supporting their communities in many ways, including food banks and social support programs, to help millions of Americans get through the significant hardship caused by COVID-19. Rockland Community Power is pleased to support the Rockland Community Foundation, a non-profit which is providing relief through grants to groups like Meals on Wheels and Hospice in Rockland County.
Prior to the pandemic, Joule established community solar programs in New York State that allowed residents to profit from renewable energy by spending less on electricity and generating funds for municipalities to put toward locally selected sustainability initiatives, bringing residents together around a common cause. “We are proud to be able to adjust our offering to better serve communities in these challenging times by supporting local relief efforts providing critical services,” says Joule CEO Mike Gordon.
In the past year, the neighboring Hudson Valley Community Power program helped raise over $32,000 for municipal sustainability funds from community solar enrollments to go toward multiple projects in Ulster, Dutchess and Putnam Counties. In this model of giving back, the action of hundreds of individual subscribers allows all local community members, businesses, and residents to benefit from this design of renewable energy project.
Rockland Community Power will be working alongside municipal leaders from the Towns of Clarkstown and Orangetown to facilitate enrollment for residents and small businesses within Orange and Rockland territory. Enrolling in community solar allows our residents (renters and owners) and small businesses to:
- Access the benefits of solar without needing to install rooftop panels
- Save up to 10% annually on their electricity costs
- Support the development of clean, renewable electricity in NY State
- Participate without risk because you can cancel without penalty at any time
In addition to the COVID-19 community solar campaign, Rockland Community Power will offer a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program later this summer to allow towns to opt for entirely clean electricity at a cheaper rate as the default supply option.
Community solar enrollment will not conflict with future Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) programs. Community solar and CCA work together to increase savings for residents and small businesses.
This COVID-19 Relief Campaign is held in partnership with Ampion Renewable Energy, who is working with solar farms throughout New York State. As capacity is limited in local solar farms, it is important to
get enrolled as soon as possible.
Learn more on the
Rockland Community Power website, or to ask questions, get help with enrollment or find out how your community can get involved, call us at (845) 859–9099.
About Rockland Community Power
Rockland Community Power is a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program—comprising communities in New York’s Rockland County—that enables participants to pay less for renewable (or “clean”) energy than they’ve historically paid for traditional (or “dirty”) electricity. The participating cities, towns, and villages have banded together to pool local electricity demand in order to leverage the collective buying power of their residents and small businesses in an effort to secure more favorable energy supply rates and designate renewable generation sources. The participating communities are the towns of Clarkstown and Orangetown and the villages of Haverstraw, Nyack, South Nyack, and Upper Nyack. For more information visit
rocklandcommunitypower.com
About Joule Community Power
Joule Community Power (Joule) is leading the energy paradigm shift in New York State by guiding municipalities and residents towards reduced energy costs through local energy independence and 100% clean energy. Joule’s first-of-kind, integrated program pools local demand to broker cheaper energy supply contracts for residents and small businesses. The program further unlocks new revenue opportunities from participation in renewable energy markets in addition to rapid customer acquisition for solar developers at scale. Joule’s expertise in designing and implementing new consumer-protective energy supply contracts was instrumental in the creation of New York State’s first Community Choice Aggregation (or “CCA”). As a pilot program, Westchester Power, saved residents more than $17M in the first contract and was the largest purchase of renewable energy in New York state history at the time, on behalf of more than 100,000 homes. Having created the blueprint to guide communities through a smooth and empowering decision process, Joule aims to scale its successful CCA model across NY State and beyond. Joule Community is 100% owned and operated by Joule Assets Inc.
About Ampion Renewable Energy
Ampion is a Public Benefits Corporation whose mission is to make it easy for everyone to access clean, renewable energy. Ampion is working to see real progress in the fight against climate change. We’re committed to operating in a way that produces sustainable value to all of our stakeholders: our neighbors in the communities we serve, our employees, our investors, and our business partners. Our success is defined by how well we serve the greater good, not just the profits we earn. Ampion provides the most experienced and reliable turn-key solution for comprehensively managing community solar assets. For more information, visit
Ampion.net or call 800-277-3641
Rockland Community Foundation
Rockland Community Foundation is providing relief through grants to combat COVID-19 challenges in Rockland County, with preference for existing nonprofits that are providing immediate assistance to those disproportionately affected.
