Nautilus is investing heavily in Rhode Island solar, through consolidation of smaller companies and projects, which seems to be paying off
Nautilus Solar Energy, a nationally owner-operator of distributed and community solar projects, announced the purchase of a 3.5 MW community solar project from Cranston, Rhode Island from ISM Solar Development, a developer of large commercial and utility-scale solar projects. This solar project is exceptional as it resides on a closed landfill that is a former EPA superfund site. It effectively utilizes land which has been otherwise unusable. This can be Nautilus’s second acquisition from ISM Solar in Rhode Island, having previously closed on the purchase of a 3.3 MW solar project in Rhode Island this past year.
“Thanks to years of cooperation between many stakeholders — the land owner, responsible parties, regulators, the City of Cranston, and ISM Solar — we are proudly able to further transform this eternally closed landfill into a source of neighborhood clean energy,”
Greg Lucini, CEO of ISM Solar
The project is capable under Rhode Island’s Community Remote Net Metering solar program, allowing Rhode Islander subscribers who want to lower their carbon emissions, but can’t install solar panels on their own homes, to buy solar power at a discount to the conventional electric service speed. The solar system is expected to serve approximately 700 customer families that reside in National Grid’s territory. Construction is targeted for completion in Q3 2020. Nautilus, since the owner operator, will be responsible for the construction, client acquisition and management, and the long-term operations and management of this project.
“We’re pleased to further extend our presence in the Rhode Island marketplace and offer the benefits offered by such a special community solar project to a broader market of local components,” added Jeffrey Cheng, President of Nautilus Solar.
Nautilus is the leading community solar programmer in Rhode Island, with over 30 MW of community solar projects operational or under construction in the nation. It hopes to serve more than 5,000 residential clients by 2021, giving strong support to Rhode Island Governor Raimondo’s renewable energy target to supply 100 percent of the state’s electricity requirements by 2030.
