Westport Lauded for Efforts in Solar Energy Initiative

WESTPORT, CT – The Town of Westport, and its partners, have completed the first two milestones in the "SunShot Prize: Race to 7-Day Solar" contest, a national competition aiming to reduce the time it takes to "go solar" across the country.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative, the Connecticut team won $50,000 in the second phase of the competition for installing 3MW of solar PV in participating municipalities. The state team continues to be in the running for a $3 million grand prize.

Westport was awarded $2,200 for its contributions and stands to win an additional $30,000 if the Connecticut team takes home a grand prize in March 2017.

In 2015, Westport joined a team led by the Connecticut Green Bank, along with the state’s two investor-owned utilities, Eversource Energy and UIL Holding Corporation’s electric subsidiary The United Illuminating Company, as well as solar installers and a number of municipalities to compete in the SunShot Prize.

Currently, solar PV projects in Connecticut can take several months to complete. The team’s goal is to reduce installation times and complete projects in as close to 7 days as possible. To achieve this goal, the Connecticut Permit to Plug-In Team is utilizing a data-driven approach to quantify the impact of each team member’s role on solar installation timelines and gauge the success of strategies designed to fast-track project completion.

Westport has achieved an average permit turnaround time of 2 days, and had its fastest project permitted, installed and interconnected in 30 days, as compared to an average of approximately 80 days for the state.

“This partnership between the utilities, solar contractors, municipalities and the Green Bank is a huge step forward for Connecticut,” said Bryan Garcia, President and CEO of the Connecticut Green Bank, in a statement. “We are excited the Connecticut team continues to make progress in significantly reducing the time it takes Connecticut homeowners to go solar. This is a win for all Connecticut residents”

The Connecticut Permit to Plug-in Team is now competing to take home a grand prize in the competition by achieving the fastest permit to plug-in times of all competitors. If this goal is accomplished, the Department of Energy will award the team a $3 million first place prize. The awards will be divided between the members of the team.

The competition began on September 22, 2015 and will conclude on March 17, 2017.

For more information about the Connecticut Green Bank, visit the website www.ctgreenbank.com.

To learn more about the SunShot Initiative and the SunShot Prize competition and rules, visit the website http://energy.gov/eere/sunshot/sunshot-prize-race-7-day-solar.

Photo: From left to right, Tony McDowell, Executive Director of Earthplace; Pippa Bell Ader, Vice Chair of Westport’s Green Task Force; Jim Marpe, Westport First Selectman; Isabelle Hazlewood, Senior Associate, Statutory and Infrastructure Programs, Connecticut Green Bank; Steve Smith, Westport Building Official. Photo credit: Contributed