The Greenwich Energy Management Advisory Committee (EMAC) is partnering with SmartPower, the non-profit marketing organization dedicated to promoting clean energy and energy efficiency, to help local homeowners learn about Connecticut’s specially incentivized “solar+storage” program. EMAC is hosting a special PowerSmart Greenwich Virtual Info Session on July 23 to explain how a home battery system can be paired with a new or existing residential solar array to provide clean, quiet power at night and especially during a power outage, and how various financial resources can be accessed. This webinar will feature a local solar system and battery storage installer to provide additional “how do you do it” information for interested homeowners.
The public is invited to a 6:00 p.m. virtual presentation by Bob Wall, Vice President of SmartPower (registration link here). More details can be found at https://powersmartgreenwich.wee.green. This event is the second of two in Greenwich, following a December 18, 2023, kickoff webinar.
PowerSmart Greenwich is a 20-week community outreach campaign funded by a U.S. Department of Energy grant. It features a team that includes Yale School of the Environment, New York University – Stern School of Business, and SmartPower. The program is designed to present local homeowners with various opportunities and incentives to own solar and battery energy storage systems, allowing residents to convert sunlight into electrical energy and store that energy in a battery for later use. The solar+storage combination helps residents speed the transition away from fossil fuels. In addition, program participants can sell their excess stored energy to Eversource and help make the grid cleaner during critical “peak demand” periods.
“Greenwich has been leading the way in helping residents to make smart energy choices,” said EMAC Chair Peter Schweinfurth. “Now we’re pleased to help accelerate the transition to solar plus energy storage in our homes. This combination helps to provide environmentally friendly options for household energy use.”
Greenwich is among the first dozen communities to launch a PowerSmart campaign in Connecticut. Over the years, the Town has been a sustainability leader in many ways, including:
• Achieving Silver-level certification in the Sustainable CT program;
• Publishing an Annual Report with recommendations to the Town on intelligent energy management;
• Promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency for Town and school buildings and the commercial and residential sectors;
• Participating in the Solarize CT Program.
Three different incentives make battery storage systems an attractive investment opportunity. First, participants who enroll in the Energy Storage Solutions program can get a generous upfront rebate incentive. (Residents in areas prone to power outages and lower-income residents may qualify for additional incentives). Second, participants get a 30% federal income tax credit, per the Inflation Reduction Act, for the net cost of the solar panels and battery system they have installed. Finally, participants will receive payments from Eversource for agreeing to draw their batteries down during summer partially and for a handful of winter days. Eversource has safeguards in place to suspend draw-downs in the event of a potential grid power outage.
Homeowners who purchase a battery system can choose not to participate in the Energy Storage Solutions program. By doing so, they would forego the state incentives but would be free to use the stored power at their discretion.
“There’s no doubt that battery storage ‘saves the day’ –literally and figuratively,” concluded SmartPower President Brian F. Keane. “Let’s get PowerSmart!”
