City of Pittsfield’s Second Municipal Solar Power Generation Facility Now Operational

Ameresco designed, built, owns, and will operate and maintain the new 2.91 MW solar PV array that is expected to save the City about $140,000 annually in energy costs

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. & PITTSFIELD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The City of Pittsfield, Massachusetts and Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE:AMRC), a leading energy efficiency and renewable energy company, today announced that the City’s newest municipal solar array at the former landfill located off of East Street is now in operation.

In 2015, the City contracted with Ameresco to design and build the 2.91 megawatt solar power generation facility on city land. Ameresco designed, built, owns, and will operate and maintain the project at no charge to the City, in exchange for a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Pittsfield to purchase the power that is generated. The system is expected to generate more than 3 million kilowatt-hours in the first year and over 58 million kilowatt-hours over the contract term.

“It is exciting to know that the City of Pittsfield continues to make great strides toward our energy consumption in an environmentally sustainable way,” said Mayor Linda Tyer. “Moreover, this collaboration will generate significant savings for the City over time and firmly positions Pittsfield as a proponent of green energy initiatives.”

Jim McGrath, the City’s Open Space Manager, noted the solar array’s benefit to city land.

“This project creates the opportunity to give otherwise unusable land a new life by converting it into a site to generate solar energy. We’ve converted what was once a cost center for the City into a revenue generating asset,” said McGrath.

The solar PPA provided a no-capital-cost approach for the City to utilize renewable energy. It also established a reduction in electricity cost from the utility grid because the city can continue to purchase discounted energy for the next 20 years. In addition to the reduced cost per kWh of energy, and the personal property tax revenue paid by Ameresco for the system, this project is estimated to save the city up to $140,000 annually with an estimated savings of $2.6 million over the duration of the contract.

“Ameresco is proud to continue our public-private partnership with the City of Pittsfield, for their landfill solar project at Downing Parkway. This project supports the City’s sustainability goals, contributing to making Pittsfield a cost-effective environmental leader in the Berkshires,” said Jim Walker, Vice President, Solar, Ameresco.

“Forward-thinking municipal leaders have recognized the economic and environmental benefits of installing solar PV on their landfills,” continued Walker. “Landfills are perfect sites for solar PV since the otherwise undevelopable land can be turned into an economic development benefit for the municipality’s citizens.”

In addition to developing solar installations on landfills in other Massachusetts communities such as Lenox, Stockbridge, Northampton, Lowell, Acton, Braintree and Sudbury, Ameresco also operates five solar installations along the Massachusetts Turnpike with two more in final construction, as well as more than 110 large sites on municipal rooftops and parking canopies.

About the City of Pittsfield, MA
Pittsfield is the largest city, and the county seat of Berkshire County in Massachusetts. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield is the third largest municipality in western Massachusetts, behind only Springfield and Chicopee. The City is the geographic and commercial hub of the Berkshires, a historic area that includes Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and author Edith Wharton's estate The Mount. Many buildings in Pittsfield are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. For more information, visit http://www.cityofpittsfield.org/.

About Ameresco
Founded in 2000, Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE:AMRC) is a leading independent provider of comprehensive services, energy efficiency, infrastructure upgrades, asset sustainability and renewable energy solutions for businesses and organizations throughout North America and Europe. Ameresco’s sustainability services include upgrades to a facility’s energy infrastructure and the development, construction and operation of renewable energy plants. Ameresco has successfully completed energy saving, environmentally responsible projects with Federal, state and local governments, healthcare and educational institutions, housing authorities, and commercial and industrial customers. With its corporate headquarters in Framingham, MA, Ameresco has more than 1,000 employees providing local expertise in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.ameresco.com.

The announcement of a customer’s entry into or commencement of a project contract is not necessarily indicative of the timing or amount of revenue from such contract, of the company’s overall revenue for any particular period or of trends in the company’s overall total construction backlog. This project was included in Ameresco’s Assets in Development as of December 31, 2016.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170324005041/en/

City of Pittsfield
Roberta McCulloch-Dews, 413-499-9322
rmdews@pittsfieldch.com
or
Ameresco
CarolAnn Hibbard, 508-661-2264
news@ameresco.com

Source: Ameresco, Inc.

Released March 24, 2017