STERLING — Sean Hamilton of the Sterling Municipal Light Department said he first became aware of a national association's annual ranking of companies' solar watts-per-customer production while attending a conference last year.

The Sterling department's participation in the Washington, D.C., nonprofit Solar Electric Power Association's seventh survey couldn't have yielded a better result: Its average of 831 solar-generated watts for each of its 3,700 customers was best in the country.

The next best result, about 3,000 miles away, was the San Diego Gas & Electric Co., at 461 solar watts per customer, according to SEPA, which released the ranking Monday.

Being a smaller operation, compared to other utilities with tens of thousands of customers, helped, said Mr. Hamilton, SMLD's general manager since 2010.

"As word gets out of what we've accomplished, I think you'll see more small utilities getting into this survey and be recognized," he said.

National Grid, the electric and gas utility operating in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, was listed as producing the sixth highest amount of solar-power megawatts in the country, with 111 megawatts of energy produced by solar power annually.

Since the Sterling department entered the solar array industry in 2011, Mr. Hamilton said, its two utility-scale solar systems have operated spectacularly.

The department's biggest partner is one of its largest customers: E.H. Perkins Construction Inc., which produces asphalt products, built a 1-megawatt solar farm near Route 62 and Jewett Road.

"When you can partner with your largest customer, that's ideal," said Mr. Hamilton. "They get the benefits (tax incentives and presumably cost savings), and we get low-cost power."

Another major part of this award, he said, is governed by the 2-megawatt Wiles Road solar project. That project's new owner is INDU Solar Holdings. Community Energy Services Sterling LLC, was the Philadelphia based developer, and groSolar was the contractor.

All played a role in creating a public-private partnership that included an educational piece for local schools, Mr. Hamilton said.

The manager credited the Sterling Light Commissioners because they have had "the faith in these projects to let you do them," as well as department employees, selectmen and the Planning Board.

Though perhaps not on the scale of a fast-food chain's billions of burgers sold, the Sterling Municipal Light Department, which is near its 3.4-megawatt capacity, recently erected a sign boasting it has produced more than 5 million solar kilowatt hours since 2011.

It is equivalent to powering close to 600 homes for a year, Mr. Hamilton said.

The state Department of Energy's launch of solar renewable energy certificates in 2010 has helped propel the state's initiative on solar.

Since the tax incentive program's launch, more than 50 vendors vied for SMLD's business, Mr. Hamilton said. State initiatives and other programs have allowed SMLD to negotiate a below-market rate for the purchase of kilowatt hours produced by these projects, he said.

Meanwhile, the Solar Electric Power Association said solar electric companies throughout the U.S. combined to integrate approximately 4,100 megawatts per acre of solar electric power to the U.S. grid in 2013, almost double the production from the previous year.

"We are thrilled to see milestones surpassed and barriers broken from coast to coast," said Julia Hamm, president and chief executive officer of SEPA. "It's truly inspiring to see utility partners and their consumer communities rally around implementing solar programs that are changing the nature of our national energy portfolio."

 

Source: www.Telegram.com