Rockland Community Power Announces COVID-19 Relief Campaign for Clarkstown 

COMMUNITY SOLAR ENROLLMENT EARNS CLARKSTOWN LOCAL COVID-19 RELIEF FUNDS

Rockland Community Power, a program created by the Towns of Clarkstown and Orangetown, Villages of Haverstraw, Nyack, South Nyack, and Upper Nyack, in partnership with Joule Community Power, will raise money for local COVID-19 relief efforts through a new community solar offering. For each subscription to community solar, Joule will donate $50 to select local relief efforts. Municipal leaders from the Town of Clarkstown are actively promoting this campaign to enable residents and small businesses to support local renewable energy generation, lower their electricity costs and help relieve those hit hardest by the pandemic.

Across the country, local organizations are supporting their communities in many ways, including food banks and social support programs, to help millions of Americans get through the significant hardship caused by COVID-19. Rockland Community Power is pleased to support the Rockland Community Foundation, a non-profit which is providing relief through grants to groups like Meals on Wheels and Hospice in Rockland County.

Prior to the pandemic, Joule established community solar programs in New York State that allowed residents to profit from renewable energy by spending less on electricity and generating funds for municipalities to put toward locally selected sustainability initiatives, bringing residents together around a common cause. “We are proud to be able to adjust our offering to better serve communities in these challenging times by supporting local relief efforts providing critical services,” says Joule CEO Mike Gordon. 

In the past year, the neighboring Hudson Valley Community Power program helped raise over $32,000 for municipal sustainability funds from community solar enrollments to go toward multiple projects in Ulster, Dutchess and Putnam Counties. In this model of giving back, the action of hundreds of individual subscribers allows all local community members, businesses, and residents to benefit from this design of renewable energy project.  

Rockland Community Power will be working alongside municipal leaders from the Town of Clarkstown to facilitate enrollment for residents and small businesses within Orange and Rockland territory. Enrolling in community solar allows our residents (renters and owners) and small businesses to:

• Access the benefits of solar without needing to install rooftop panels
• Save up to 10% annually on their electricity costs
• Support the development of clean, renewable electricity in NY State
• Participate without risk because you can cancel without penalty at any time

In addition to the COVID-19 community solar campaign, Rockland Community Power will offer a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program later this summer to allow towns to opt for entirely clean electricity at a cheaper rate as the default supply option. Community solar enrollment will not conflict with future Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) programs. Community solar and CCA work together to increase savings for residents and small businesses. This COVID-19 Relief Campaign is held in partnership with Ampion Renewable Energy, who is working with solar farms throughout New York State. As capacity is limited in local solar farms, it is important to get enrolled as soon as possible. Learn more on the Rockland Community Power website, or to ask questions, get help with enrollment or find out how your community can get involved, call us at 845-859-9099.