The Connecticut Green Bank says it will participate in the U.S. Department of Energy's SunShot Prize: Race to 7-Day Solar, a national competition that aims to reduce the time it takes to"go solar," across the country.
The Green Bank will partner with Connecticut's two investor-owned utilities – Eversource Energy and UIL Holding Corp. subsidiary United Illuminating Co. – solar installers, and a number of municipalities to form the Connecticut Permit to Plug-in Team. The team will compete to to deploy 10 MW of solar energy in participating Connecticut municipalities.
The team will aim to install 1 MW of solar PV in participating municipalities by January 2016 and 3 MW by March 2016. Connecticut has a chance to win up to $100,000 in the first round of competition and up to $3 million as a first-place, grand-prize winner.
‘This partnership between the utilities, solar contractors, municipalities and the Green Bank is a huge step forward for Connecticut,’ says Bryan Garcia, president and CEO of the Connecticut Green Bank. ‘We are excited to work together toward accelerating the adoption of residential solar PV in the state and significantly reducing the time it takes Connecticut homeowners to go solar.’
