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Norwich Solar Celebrates Completion of a 500 KW AC Solar Project in Barnet, VT
Milarepa Center and Norwich Solar hosted a ribbon-cutting event to celebrate the final milestone
Norwich Solar completed a 500 kW AC solar array in Barnet, VT. The ground-mounted system will generate enough renewable clean energy to power approximately 135 homes per year, and offset the carbon emission equivalent of almost 150 cars per year.
Milarepa Center hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday September 6, 2023. Milarepa Center is a Tibetan Buddhist retreat named for an eleventh century yogi famed for attaining enlightenment in a single lifetime. The center is an affiliate of the international organization the FPMT (Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition) and was founded in 1981 by students of Lama Thubten Yeshe and of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. They host both public and private retreats at the site. Members and friends of Milarepa, along with the general public and organizations that helped in various stages of the project were invited to join the celebration.
Dawn Holtz, Director of the Milarepa Center, stated “We are very excited to host the array here on our land and be able to contribute to clean energy production in the local area and to have partnered with Norwich Solar on this project. We are also so incredibly thrilled to share the many blessings and good bodhichitta energy present here on the land with the offtakers who will be receiving the energy that is generated by the array.”
Jim Merriam, Chief Executive Officer at Norwich Solar said of the project: “It’s been such a pleasure to work with the folks at Milarepa Center. Throughout every phase of the project, they have been a supportive team member which greatly helped the process of developing and constructing this project.”
Diana Wood, Director of Marketing & Outreach for Norwich Solar added, “Milarepa Center has been welcoming to us, and I was impressed by their frequent communications with Milarepa members about the project. They show deep appreciation for the wider benefits of clean energy projects like this.”
Milarepa Center will host the solar array on their land for the next 25 years. The renewable energy generation credits will benefit four Vermont farms and dairies to help them save on energy bills. The solar project at Milarepa Center, owned and operated by Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company, is one of nine that Greenbacker purchased from Norwich Technologies in 2023.
Norwich Solar is currently in the EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) phases of 16 solar projects and expects to complete a total of 3.5 MW AC of additional renewable energy projects by the end of 2023 throughout Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
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