By Stephen Underwood | [email protected] | Hartford CourantPUBLISHED: January 4, 2025 at 11:13 AM ESTMeadow Ridge, a luxury continuing care retirement community in Redding, is the latest senior living community in the state to flip the switch and go solar, officials said.A carport and rooftop solar installation will supply 897,700 kWh of electricity each year, providing more than 20% of the facility’s energy, according to retirement community. The solar arrays at Meadow Ridge are predicted to save an estimated $7.6 million in electricity costs over the life of the project while offsetting 605 metric tons of carbon each year. Officials said that is the equivalent of the annual emissions from gasoline-powered vehicles driving over 1.5 million miles.“This is an exciting day on many levels,” Meadow Ridge Chief Operating Officer Brett Mehlman said. “We can all feel good that we are making this investment in the future of our community and our planet while realizing immediate benefits. In 2025, we expect that over 20 percent of the power we use at Meadow Ridge will be generated by solar.”In a ceremony held last month, Mehlman and resident Susan Auslander, energized the project by flipping a giant switch, according to officials in a press release. Two of the project’s three solar arrays are on top of carports over employee parking areas. The third is on the roof of Ridge Crest, Meadow Ridge’s sub-acute rehabilitation and skilled nursing center, according to officials.“I’m so proud that we are leading by example at Meadow Ridge,” Auslander said in a press release. “It took both shared vision and courage for the residents, ownership and management of Meadow Ridge to bring this project to life. I’d also like to thank all of the partners who helped make this happen.”The project was designed and built by West Hartford-based Verogy and financed through a combination of zero-emission renewable energy credits through Eversource, investment tax credits, and a commercial property-assessed clean energy loan from the Connecticut Green Bank.“At the Connecticut Green Bank, we are excited to see all projects that support our state’s green economy become reality. This project is a special inspiration because it connects to our vision statement: a planet protected by the love of humanity,” said Bryan Garcia, president and CEO of the Green Bank.Several other retirement communities in the state have also installed solar panels in recent years. In 2021, the Essex Meadows senior living complex in Essex installed its Verogy Solar project, producing nearly 700,000 kWh of clean energy every year and saving $4 million over the lifetime of the solar panels or 35-years, officials said. In addition, Covenant Living of Cromwell and Greenskies Clean Focus teamed up in 2022 to install a 159 kW solar energy system with 356 rooftop solar panels to generate more than 183,000 kWh of clean energy and save the facility $40,000 a year in energy costs, of
Mer. Gen 8th, 2025
