Why Solar?

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Community Solar was developed in New York State to ensure that the maximum number of people possible could choose to power their homes through renewable energy. Again, this is a CHOICE, not a mandate. Our projects are a maximum of 5 megawatts, and we are dedicated to making them blend into the community, we utilize generous set-backs and cover to ensure that our presence does not bother our neighbors. When a community solar project is completed, local taxpayers can subscribe to it and receive up to a 10% discount on their utility bills.

Need proof? USLE is a company that is dedicated to local labor and employing local people with good wages and benefits. That’s why we have Project Labor Agreements (PLA) in place for our projects. That means that we are using LOCAL union labor-people who live and pay taxes right in your community. You won’t see plates coming in from other states and transient people in and out of your town with a USLE project. We put your neighbors and friends to work,

and make sure your investment stays where it belongs, in our host communities.

Solar Arrays are quiet, out of site and provide beneficial land use for properties that are currently vacant. They also pay taxes. State Law exempts projects like this from property taxes under the normal assessment process, so we sit down with the local government and negotiate a payment to cover the systems we develop. These payments are significant, and it should also be pointed out that they come from a project that sends no children to school and uses little to no town services.

In addition to the taxes our projects pay, we also provide additional community benefit funding as a part of our approval process. This revenue can be used by your town to do a variety of things from the purchase of new equipment to support local parks and athletic fields to direct relief for property taxpayers. The goal of these funds is to ensure a community receives value in exchange for their willingness to host a project.

As experts in the field of solar development, we stand ready to assist your community in crafting laws, ordinances and regulations that allow maximum community input, while still meeting state legal muster. This offer extends past our own projects and is just a part of the customer service we believe is genuinely required as a community partner.

We don’t want to be a developer building in your community, we want to be a part OF your community. That means, we are not only willing to help local community groups and endeavors, but we are eager to do so. This includes everything from veterans’ organizations to youth sports and everything in between.