Vermont Academy Joins Net Metering Program
Green Lantern Solar and Vermont Academy are pleased to announce that Vermont Academy is now a participant in Vermont’s net metering program. Vermont Academy is located on 450 acres at the foothills of the Green Mountains in Saxtons River, Vermont and is one of Vermont’s oldest private secondary schools. Green Lantern Solar of Waterbury has completed nearly 100 projects in Vermont, adding more than 55 megawatts (DC) of new in-state solar power to Vermont’s grid. Green Lantern’s projects are located in 66 towns throughout Vermont.
“This project is a great example of how educational institutions in Vermont can benefit from the net metering program,” said Scott Buckley, Green Lantern Vice President of Finance and a Vermont Academy alumnus. “And of course, I’m thrilled we can bring this benefit to my alma mater.”
Vermont Academy Head of School Dr. Jennifer Zaccara notes, “Now is the time for schools to step up and lead the way by exploring and diversifying their energy use. For us at Vermont Academy, this makes business sense just as much as it helps us to serve the goals we all must share in being good caretakers of our environment. It is wonderful that Green Lantern will be transferring the Renewable Energy Credits generated by the project to Green Mountain Power, which has long touted itself as a progressive utility.”
Along with creating clean energy and savings for customers like Vermont Academy, Green Lantern’s net metering projects also generate lease payments for the array hosts and tax payments to the State. Green Lantern’s net metering projects contribute to Vermont’s robust renewable energy sector, which according to state statistics, has generated thousands of quality, high-paying jobs across the state.
Green Lantern’s operations make positive impacts throughout Vermont. Green Lantern has remote offices in Waterbury, Addison County, Brattleboro and Waitsfield, and its design consultants are located in Burlington (TJ Boyle), Colchester (Krebs & Lansing), Huntington (Arrowwood Environmental), and Montpelier (Solar Power Engineering). Green Lantern’s contractors and their employees are located throughout Vermont as well, in Guilford (MT3 Unlimited), Orwell (Homestead Fence), South Burlington (E&S Electric), and Isle LaMotte (Daybreak Solarworks).
Net metering programs like Vermont’s also provide other valuable benefits. Net metering programs provide the economic framework for customers to participate directly in the green economy and the fight against climate change and allow for the increased deployment of distributed generation by leveraging outside private investment. In fact, a recent report by Synapse Economics found that from 2014 to 2019, small-scale solar in New England saved utilities and all ratepayers – not just those participating directly – more than $1.1 billion, $79 million of that in Vermont alone
