The YMCA in Frederick County, Maryland is expected to save $100,000 on its electricity bills over the next 25 years after installing a 222 kW rooftop solar array. The organization entered a 25-year service agreement with solar installer Secure Solar Futures.
The array is installed on the Natelli Family Y in Ijamsville, Maryland. It is comprised of 544 monocrystalline panels from JinkoSolar. It is expected to produce 294 MWh in its first year of operations, covering roughly 18% of the facility’s electricity usage. YMCA will continue to source the rest of its electricity from the local utility.
The YMCA location is expected to abate 2,997 metric tons of carbon emissions and save $97,226 on electricity over the 25-year power purchase agreement. At the end of the service agreement, YMCA can take ownership of the solar array, which can continue to produce electricity for another decade beyond the agreement.
Secure Solar Futures also installed an electric vehicle charger on site. The Level 2 charging station is manufactured by ChargePoint, offering two charging ports for members and nonmembers. The first two hours of charging are offered for free, and after that the fee is $3 per hour and $0.25 per kWh of power used.
“The YMCA of Frederick County is generating solar power at its facility for use on the electricity grid while making clean energy available to local drivers simultaneously,” said Secure Solar Futures CEO, Ryan McAllister. “It’s an increasingly popular approach among our customers, and we expect to see even more integration of on-site solar and electric transportation as our company expands into the state of Maryland.”
In 2023, Secure Solar Futures announced the Coalfield Solar Fund in partnership with Intuit and the National Energy Education Development Project (NEED) to offer up to $5 million in grants to public schools and community colleges that sign solar power purchase agreements (PPA) in coalfield regions of West Virginia and Southwest Virginia. The company also partnered with the Virginia Community College System, signing several solar PPAs.
The company was also involved in the development of West Virginia Senate Bill 544, sponsored by Senator Ben Queen, which increased the solar PPA cap from 500 kW to 1 MW in the state of West Virginia.
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