The Collective Power of Local Cooperatives
Sunwealth’s first solar plus storage project is nearly complete at River Valley Co-op in Easthampton, Massachusetts, and is the first net zero U.S. grocery store.
In Easthampton, Massachusetts, residents who pass by River Valley Co-op (RVC) will see a striking new visual: a newly constructed solar carport. RVC, which is a consumer-owned cooperative grocery store, opened its Easthampton location in 2021 and has long prioritized incorporating clean energy and sustainability into its operations to support its bottom line and community.
At its core, RVC is a community-focused organization. The cooperative is owned by 14,000 local customers, with each member having a single equity share of the business that lends to a democratic system for business operations. RVC sources its products from local vendors to help spur local and regional food economies while providing the highest quality of goods for members. The co-op has been an active member of the Western Massachusetts community since 2008 and contributes to the health and well-being of its neighbors.
“The magnificent solar power system at our Easthampton store is a beautiful testament to our co-op owners’ commitment to the environment!”
In partnership with Co-op Power, a consumer-owned energy cooperative, and PV Squared, a worker-owned solar installation cooperative, Sunwealth recently completed two projects for RVC – a 169 kW rooftop installation and a 758 kW carport complemented by 1,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) worth of battery storage. The battery storage will help build community resilience and alleviate strain on the energy grid during peak demand, enabling the grid to continue operating efficiently and effectively. RVC will purchase half of the energy generated on-site, which offsets the significant energy usage associated with grocery store refrigeration, and the remaining half will be allocated to low-income community solar subscribers in the area. Co-op Power will manage the community solar program, providing clean energy to 100 low-income households at a 15% discount.
“Co-op Power is proud to partner with River Valley Co-op, PV Squared and Sunwealth on this groundbreaking solar plus storage project. It has brought millions of dollars into the cooperative economy and will continue to bring savings to River Valley Co-op and area low income families for 20 years or more,” said Lynn Benander, President of Co-op Power.
Installing solar at their Easthampton site is part of Co-op Power and RVC’s Climate Justice Initiative and will deliver close to $244,000 in energy savings over the lifetime of the projects. The low-income community solar subscribers receiving energy from the installation will receive over $218,000 in lifetime energy savings to help build community wealth and stability.
“Bringing a complex project like this to life was both technically challenging, and deeply gratifying” said Josh Hilsdon of PV Squared. “It’s not just a standard behind-the-meter rooftop solar installation. It’s also a large-scale parking canopy structure, a DC-Coupled Battery Energy Storage System, a new utility service to interconnect to project the grid, and extensive coordination across a large project team. It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it, and will serve as an example of what’s possible when you dream big.”
In their annual report, Rochelle Prunty, RVC’s General Manager, writes: “The magnificent solar power system at our Easthampton store is a beautiful testament to our co-op owners' commitment to the environment! While our entire Easthampton store project was very much a miraculous accomplishment of our collective community efforts and commitment, the ambitiously significant first net zero U.S. grocery store installation to generate just shy of a megawatt of solar power annually is its very own miraculous accomplishment of collective community efforts and commitment.”
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