OVERVIEW

Creedon and Co., a family-owned company based in Worcester, MA started off as a diner in 1985, but evolved into an ever expanding catering and tent rental company. Today they own a 24,000+ square foot warehouse to go along with a 3,000+ sq. ft. kitchen and another 2,600+ sq. ft. of office space. Being a company with a large environmental footprint but one that attributes much of their success to their community conscious attitude, solar PV was a perfect fit. Installing this 125.44 kW roof-mounted solar system has proven to be a win-win, reducing their electric bill while making another positive contribution to their community. Now their roof space serves as a renewable energy generation plant, converting light energy from the sun into clean, reliable electricity. The system is connected to the utility grid and the energy generated is applied to the company’s utility accounts.

This project has an estimated return on equity of 14.9% and a payback period of six years. Federal and state incentives, namely the ARRA Federal Stimulus 1603 Treasury Grant and the Massachusetts Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC) program, combine to dramatically improve the payback period and return on investment. The 1603 Grant covered 30% of the project cost and the SRECs are sold to electric utilities for $285-$500 for every 1,000 kWh the system produces. The utilities purchase these in order to meet state renewable energy mandates

The installation includes (432) Suntech STP-290 solar panels and one Solectria PVI 95 and one PVI 15 manufactured by Massachusetts based Solectria Renewables. These products are among the most efficient in the industry. Over the next thirty years, this system will produce over 3 million kilowatt hours (KWh) and displace more than 2,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. This is the equivalent carbon sequestered by 1,695 acres of trees in a year and the energy equivalent needed to power 284 homes for a year.