Lightstar Renewables partners with Arcadia to help connect underserved communities to a clean energy future
Traditional territories of the Massachusett and Pawtucket People / Boston, Massachusetts, Aug. 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Today Lightstar Renewables, a community solar developer and long-term owner and operator of community solar farms in the US, is announcing a new partnership with Arcadia, a climate technology company that unlocks global energy data to provide customer acquisition and management services, to help connect underserved communities to the next generation of clean solar energy.
Arcadia is a tech company that helps address the climate crisis by unlocking access to data and clean energy sources. This includes connecting over 200,000 homes to community solar farms and making it easier for more people to connect using just their zip code and electric utility details.
“Lightstar’s greenfield portfolio sits at over 1GW across 12 states and is growing month by month with our second portfolio in construction and a further 150MW of projects hitting the construction phase across 2024. It is important to have a partnership with Arcadia to support Lightstar’s mission to provide more renewable, clean energy to local communities, and help transition the grid to more equitable sources of energy,” said Paul Wheeler, Founder and CEO of Lightstar. “Community solar increases access to the benefits of solar energy generation, enabling everyone to enjoy the benefits of clean energy, and we’re excited to partner with Arcadia to accelerate the growth of community solar across the US”
Arcadia’s technology will help light a path for everyday consumers and small businesses to connect with Lightstar’s innovative community solar developments and build the next generation of energy. The partnership will enhance Lightstar’s approach to solar projects to ensure it benefits more land owners, farmers, and local communities — and expand the reach of community solar. The partnership will play an integral role in Lightstar’s overall strategy to help ensure communities receive access to equitable and reliable solar energy quickly and securely while supporting the full lifecycle of every project and ensuring long-term success.
“As the largest subscription provider in the community solar market, Arcadia’s expansive customer base and management services will provide Lightstar with access to unparalleled national reach, in addition to enhanced customer service and engagement,” said Kiran Bhatraju, CEO & Co-Founder of Arcadia. “We’re excited to partner with Lightstar to empower more people and businesses to join our mission to fight the climate crisis and work toward achieving a zero-carbon future.”
“Our work has been centered around creating solutions for communities, residents, and businesses to access renewable electricity, especially for those who cannot access rooftop solar,” said Corey Stein, Lightstar’s Chief Financial Officer. “The community solar model allows us to build a solar project, and deliver the benefits of cost savings and renewable electricity to nearby residents, who virtually subscribe to use the electricity produced by the project. Arcadia will act as a key piece of this puzzle, to help us identify and serve low to moderate income renters, residents in multi-unit buildings, and businesses that don’t own their roofs – or anyone who wants to participate in the renewable energy transition by subscribing to a community solar project. We are excited to work with Arcadia in delivering electricity to participants who can see both cost savings and an advance in renewable energy in their community.”
About Lightstar Renewables
Lightstar Renewables is a greenfield community solar developer and long-term owner and operator of community solar farms across the US. Currently Lightstar is active in 12 states with a pipeline of over 1000 Megawatts (MWs) and growing. Founded by a seasoned team of solar developers, our mission is to build solar for the land and community. We are the leading greenfield developer in the industry in community solar development that integrates local ecology and agriculture with every project. Stewarding the land and the communities and providing cheaper clean energy access to all is key to the success of the clean energy transition.
About Arcadia
Arcadia is a climate technology company enabling a zero-carbon economy. By unlocking high-fidelity, global energy data for the first time, the Arc platform combines easy-to-use data and APIs under one roof to allow any company to act on its environmental impact and build the next generation of energy products and climate tech solutions. Arc democratizes access to data from thousands of utility providers in 52 countries, covering more than 95% of US residential and commercial utility accounts.
Founded in 2014 on the belief that everyone deserves access to clean energy, Arcadia also manages the nation’s largest community solar portfolio, helping to tackle energy injustice while spurring economic growth with more than 1.6 GW of solar under management. Join us in our mission and find out how you or your business can help achieve the vision of a 100% zero-carbon future at www.arcadia.com.