By Kelsey Misbrener | November 27, 2018

PowerMarket, a provider of community solar management and administration software solutions, announced its partnership with Pine Gate Renewables—a utility-scale solar developer, owner and operator—to manage its Rhode Island community solar portfolio. In this engagement, PowerMarket will engage, support and manage those Rhode Island residents and small businesses that have subscribed to two community solar projects in the Ocean State.

"We did considerable due diligence in the market to see who had the expertise, back of house support, and software to manage our community solar projects," said Adam Brown, Pine Gate director of offtake strategy. "When you combine PowerMarket's proven software platform with their level of service, the decision was clear. We look forward to working with PowerMarket as a long-term partner as we grow our community solar portfolio in RI and beyond."

Pine Gate's Rhode Island community solar projects will have the capacity to power 300 local homes and businesses and save subscribers over $400,000 over the lifetime of their participation. With overwhelming interest from local participants, these projects are already fully subscribed, but there are future projects in the pipeline.

"We are excited to have Pine Gate on our platform," said PowerMarket director of operations Jason Kaplan. "We see Rhode Island's new Community Net Metering Pilot being the catalyst for further community solar in the state, and know Pine Gate is well positioned to capture this growing market."

Rhode Islanders interested in reducing their electric bills through community solar are welcome to contact Jason Kaplan with PowerMarket at (516) 330-4599 or Adam Brown with Pine Gate at (206) 605-9560.

Cast your vote (for us!) for the first annual Make It in Brooklyn Innovation Awards.

This December, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership is excited to celebrate the best of NYC’s innovators and startups with our first ever Make It in Brooklyn Innovation Awards.

This year’s nominees have been selected from the Make It in Brooklyn tech community and include startups who have applied to pitch at our pitch contests, those who have participated in our events, startups we have featured via our newsletter, and companies who have participated in Downtown Brooklyn Partnership’s Living Lab program, throughout the year.  

The winning companies will each receive a cash prize of $1,000.

Voting has been put to the public to decide the winners of the three prize categories: the MaryAnne Gilmartin Innovation Award (to be awarded to a female-founded company); Smart City Startup of the Year; and Innovator of the Year.

Downtown Brooklyn Partnership invites you to vote for the best startups to win. Polls will close on Tuesday, December 4th at 11:59pm EST, and we will be presenting the awards to the winning companies at a special ceremony in early December.

by Patrick Rocchio, Photos by Kasey Rodriguez

A major new community solar farm is offering the public energy savings on their utility bills.

Port Morris-based OnForce Solar cut a ribbon officially opening a 3,000 panel, 1.1 megawatt community solar farm atop 1160 Commerce Avenue that is one of several coming online in the borough allowing the public to sign up to receive power – and potentially reduce their electric bill.

The ceremony took place on Wednesday, September 19 and coincided with its campaign called Million Solar Strong that advocates for the goal of powering a million households, including 100,000 low income units, with solar power in New York state by 2023.

The community solar farms are being developed as part of an initiative from the New York Public Service Commission, said Brooke Ruggiero of OnForce Solar.

“Community solar farms are different in that several households, small businesses, schools, churches and renters are signing up to get energy,” said Ruggiero.

In the past, only residents who owned homes with roofs that were suitable to have solar panels on them could benefit from solar energy savings, but now Bronxites can sign up to receive a portion of the energy generated from the farms being developed around the borough, said Ruggiero.

Residents who are interested in becoming a subscriber to other OnForce Solar farms, which should be coming online in the next several months, can get more information and sign up at onforcesolar.com.

About 20% of the energy generated from such farms is set aside for low to moderate income ratepayers, including those who are renters, said Ruggiero.

Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. was on hand for the ribbon cutting and has joined the Million Strong Campaign, along with other elected officials, industry and environmental leaders, and community organizations.

Diaz said that the ‘green economy’ is creating the jobs of the future and that it is important that New York be at the forefront of a shift to a ‘green-collar’ economy.

“As we move away from fossil fuels, we must be prepared to replace traditional fuels with cleaner, renewable energy sources like solar,” said Diaz, who added that with “smart planning and a true commitment at all levels of government, we can reach the goal of powering one million households with solar energy in the next five years.”

Councilman Ritchie Torres said in a statement that clean energy like solar power could mitigate the effects of climate change evidenced in more extreme weather and severe storms.

“Building enough solar to power a million homes here in New York by 2023 is a good first step,” stated Torres, adding that he has seen negative health outcomes in communities where there is a “dirty energy system.”
 

Aside from altruism, there are practical reasons to sign up to be a member of a community solar farm.

Subscribers receive a discount ranging from eight to 12 percent on their electric bill from OnForce Solar, depending on the duration of the subscription, said Ruggiero.

THE BRONX -
A new solar program in the Bronx is aiming to help residents save money on their electric bill.

The Community Solar Program allows homeowners, churches, small business and renters to switch to natural energy. However, residents need to be a Con Edison customer to participate in the program.

OnForce Solar installs the panels and partners with Con Edison. Officials say about 1,500 solar panels were recently installed to power more than 100 households across the borough.

The idea is to level the playing field for anybody to participate in solar, whether you have a big house, apartment or no matter where you live, says Charles Feit, of OnForce Solar.

VIDEO: New solar program aims to help Bronx residents save money

Resident Steve Defrank says he pays about $300 a month during the summer and is looking into the program to lower the cost of his electric bill.

The old way doesn't work anymore, so this is a brand-new way I can participate without buying all the equipment, he says.

OnForce Solar officials say a dozen more solar sites will be installed throughout the Bronx in September.

July’s featured startup - PowerMarket PowerMarket is a cleantech startup based in Downtown Brooklyn whose goal is to power the community by creating technology specializing in the production of clean, affordable energy. We talked to Travis Tench, Director of Outreach for the company to learn more about its cleantech initiatives and where the company is headed: July 06, 2018
DBP:

Tell us about PowerMarket.

TT:

PowerMarket is a Brooklyn-based cleantech startup committed to making clean energy more accessible, affordable, and ubiquitous. We do this by creating software to manage shared renewable projects, such as community solar. We work with big utilities (such as ConEd) and an array of solar developers to give them the tools and services they need to make these projects run smoothly and get more clean energy on the grid. We also work with a variety of environmental advocacy and community groups to do outreach and education about the energy transition we’re in the midst of. DBP:
What exactly is community solar and why does it matter?

TT:

Community solar is the sharing economy for solar. Instead of buying panels and putting them on your roof, you subscribe to a piece of a large array built in your area. It costs you nothing to join, you save money on electricity, and you support new local solar projects. The community solar model matters because it includes everyone. There are a lot of reasons that most people can’t traditionally “go solar”— upfront costs, having a shaded roof, being renters—but community solar opens renewable energy to people who would have previously been excluded. It’s also important because we’re at a critical point in history where we have to change the way in which we get our energy and shift away from fossil fuels - community solar allows it to happen much faster. DBP:

Who are your customers and what is your competitive offering to them?

TT:

Our customers are community solar subscribers, utility companies, and renewable energy (mostly solar) project developers. Our community solar subscribers are homeowners, renters, small businesses, and places of worship throughout the country who want to do their part to help speed up our transition to renewable energy, and who also want save a little money on electricity. We make it easy for people to join projects and save them money. For utilities and developers, we offer turnkey software solutions so that they can quickly and easily create shared renewable projects. We manage projects for them on an ongoing basis, customize the suite of services for their specific needs, and handle things like credit allocation and billing.   DBP:

Why did you choose to start your business in Brooklyn, and, can you speak to why Brooklyn is a great place for a startup to do business?   TT:

Part of the reason is that most of us live in Brooklyn. But the reason many of us live in Brooklyn is because so much is happening here. It’s a hotspot for cleantech and innovation (and music, food, art, etc). We’ve also been very fortunate to have been one of the companies chosen to go through Urban Future Lab’s incubator program, which is based right in downtown Brooklyn, in the Metrotech Center. That’s been an incredible launchpad for us as a company.   DBP:

What, if any, challenges do you face as a cleantech company in a fossil-fuel dominated industry? How do you see the cleantech / green energy industry growing in the future?   TT:

As with anything new, there’s some inertia to overcome and some resistance to change in the industry. For most of us, we haven’t really had to think about how we get our electricity, and haven’t had the option to make choices around that. I think the biggest challenge is increasing awareness that people do have a choice now and helping people get up to speed on how it all works. Fortunately, we like talking about energy, so we have our work cut out for us.
The cleantech industry is growing fast and there are new companies starting all the time. I see things really taking off in the next couple years for community solar. Large scale storage will also play a critical role in getting renewable energy to the levels we need to power our cities. There are some big opportunities in building efficiency and IOT home automation so that we’re smarter about the way we use the energy we create. Fortunately, in addition to reducing emissions and making better use of our resources, these measures also save people money, which makes it that much easier to adopt.   DBP:

What’s next for PowerMarket?

TT:

A lot more community solar. We’re moving soon too! The company has tripled in size over the last couple of years, and we’re outgrowing our office space in the Metrotech center. I expect that we’ll have some company outings to some of the amazing outdoor concerts here in Brooklyn over the summer as well.   DBP:

Sounds great! How do I get involved or sign up?

TT:

I’m so glad you asked! We happen to have a few projects right here in the city that are open for enrollment. You can head to www.thepowermarket.com and choose a project near you, or give us a call at 212-381-6097 and we’ll help you get started.
You can learn more about PowerMarket

For Earth Day, environmental activists are encouraging people to look into community solar projects, which gives the benefits of solar energy without solar panels on your own roof.

Community solar is a model that lets you get the benefits (both economic and environmental) of solar panels, without actually installing them on your roof. The whole concept, said Nick Baudouin, co-founder of community solar software company PowerMarket, is "solar for all."

"It's for everyone, not just everyone who can check off a lot of boxes," like previous requirements of home ownership, an in-the-thousands installation payment, a credit check and so on, he said. "I live in a city, in an apartment, and clearly I can’t put solar on my roof, but I can still be part of solar and be part of the sharing economy."

Read the full article here: https://www.metro.us/news/the-big-stories/community-solar-renewable-energy-to-everyone

BROOKLYN, New York - The PowerMarket, a platform and marketplace that allows households in the Greater New York City Area to participate in local community solar projects, announces the first ever project to go live in ConEdison service territory. Community solar allows individuals and businesses the ability to share in the benefits of solar with no upfront cost and without installing panels on their roof.

Over thirty households in Westchester have already signed up. "Through the PowerMarket, people save money on their monthly electricity bill while supporting renewable energy development in their communities," says Eric Dahnke, CEO and Founder of the PowerMarket. Customers can expect to see the benefits of participation in the project in March 2017.

The PowerMarket is a product from ProjectEconomics Inc, a community solar solution provider and member of ACRE at the Urban Future Lab (UFL) at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering. ACRE is New York City’s business incubator for smart cities, smart grid, and clean energy. UFL hosts several programs focused on educational, policy, and market solutions to the issues of sustainability.

"Initiatives such as the PowerMarket will help New York continue to be a place for pioneering energy solutions and a leader in the clean energy sector," said Pat Sapinsley, managing director of cleantech initiatives at the UFL. "The optimization of renewable energy distribution systems such as community solar will help reduce dependence on fossil fuels, remove barriers to renewable energy support and allow all individuals access to clean and local solar power.

The PowerMarket
The PowerMarket allows households and business to participate in local community solar projects. We provide customer acquisition, management and billing solutions for solar developers, community groups, and municipalities looking to develop community solar projects in their communities. The PowerMarket is a product of ProjectEconmics Inc, a provider of community solar solutions. They are based out of ACRE at the Urban Future Lab.