Solar development company BlueWave announced it has secured $100 million from Morgan Stanley to develop more than 25 MW of community solar in Massachusetts. MS Solar Solutions Corp., a Morgan Stanley subsidiary, will co-invest and own the community solar portfolio with BlueWave.
“A core element of BlueWave’s mission is to provide all energy consumers the opportunity to go solar and reduce both their electricity costs and their carbon footprint. For those homeowners and small businesses who can’t put solar on their rooftops, Community Solar is an incredibly valuable tool to meet that objective,” explained BlueWave’s Managing Principal, John DeVillars.
Two of the first solar projects managed by the joint BlueWave and Morgan Stanley venture have a capacity of 2.5 MW and are located at Oxford and Fairhaven, MA. They are currently under construction and scheduled to become active in March 2016.
BlueWave said it has created several hundred jobs and saved several million dollars for is customers. The company currently has about 600 MW of solar projects in development in the US, Caribbean and South Africa.
The company has many interesting solar projects – one is at a landfill and Superfund site. It was the first Superfund landfill site to be developed for solar power in Massachusetts. The 1.75 MW project was constructed on land owned by the City of New Bedford and it was recognized officially with the EPA’s “Superfund Excellence in Site Re-use Award.”
BlueWave builds community PV solar farms in local areas so residents can buy shares in them and reduce their utility bills. Some people don’t want solar panels on their rooftops and others can’t afford them or don’t own their homes, so they can’t have solar power systems installed.
By purchasing shares in a local solar power farm, these people can still get some electricity from solar power without having to buy or lease their own solar power systems. They also have no upfront costs and don’t even have to own rooftop space.
Image Credit: BlueWave