Co-op solar program marks first anniversary

solar-wash-img_6269-cr copyThe Cooperative Finance Corp. (CFC), Federated Rural Electric Insurance Exchange and the National Renewables Cooperative Organization recently marked the first anniver­sary of their landmark Solar Cooperative Community Projects (sCOOP) program. The ­organizations created the program in response to growing interest among electric cooperatives in deploying small-scale solar ­generation resources, allowing members to ­purchase part of the output of the solar arrays on a voluntary subscription basis.

“Over the past year we’ve seen a significant amount of interest in solar on the part of electric cooperatives,” CFC CEO Sheldon C. Petersen said. “The collaborative efforts behind the sCOOP program have enabled those co-ops ­interested in solar to pursue projects in a more cost-­effective way.”

To date, more than 20 co­operatives have either ­completed or are actively ­developing projects through the sCOOP program, which allows cooperatives to own the solar assets while using the investment tax credit and ­accelerated depreciation for projects – incentives typically not available to not-for-profit ­cooperatives.

Source: CFC Solutions Newsbulletin