A new solar farm under construction in Baldwin, New York is now enrolling Southern Tier homeowners for a novel product that offers both price protection and solar energy offsets.

​The farm, which will generate enough electricity to power close to 400 homes, will sell to New York State Electric and Gas, the local utility, which will then credit homes that sign up for the program.

​Solar Farms NY’s “Solar Saver” product differs from other community solar offers, Fargnoli explained. “Our Solar Farms NY members can offset up to 100% of their carbon footprint and at the same time protect themselves from higher utility prices,”” said David Fargnoli, a spokesman for Solar Farms New York, an Albany-based company that is marketing the project. “Even if NYSEG raises its rates, members will never pay more than their capped rate which is based on the utility rate the day they enrolled. And if NYSEG rates go down our members will get the benefit of the lower utility rate.”

​“Every one cent increase in utility rates translates into $100 per year of electricity costs for the average house in the Southern Tier,” Fargnoli said.

​According to the company, the Baldwin community solar farm is expected to be built this summer and will start flowing electricity by the beginning of 2019. Because production is limited by the number of solar panels erected on the farms, membership in the Baldwin project will be limited to about 400 household customers, depending on the average annual usage of the homes that enroll, Fargnoli said.

​Solar Farms NY sells community solar credits generated under the New York State community solar regulations that encourage developers to build community solar projects that deliver their electricity to the local utility which then credits consumers with a portion of the solar energy produced. In addition to the Baldwin farm, Solar Farms NY is marketing solar credits generated from a farm in Mooers, New York, on the Canadian border north of Plattsburgh.

​Community solar is now available in some fourteen states and the District of Columbia, according to the Solar Industry Association.

​Customers who wish to take advantage of community solar can become members of the new community solar farms by logging into www.SolarFarmsNY.com or calling the company’s Albany office at 833 877 7652.