COMMUNITY SOLAR ROUND-UP: Altus acquires projects, Castillo and NSE deliver EPC work, CCSA publishes report

The projects are part of Maryland’s Community Solar Program, an initiative to improve access to community solar in the state through policies such as removing the requirement to own one’s own property to access community solar projects.

While Maryland’s solar sector is not the largest in terms of sheer capacity, distributed solar makes up the majority of its operating capacity; figures from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) show that in 2024, three-fifths of the state’s solar generation came from “small-scale, customer-sited” PV projects. This week’s acquisition follows Maryland’s passage of the Renewable Energy Certainty Act, which seeks to streamline the permitting process for new solar PV and energy storage projects.

In other Altus-related news, TPG Rise Climate, the climate investing platform of asset manager TPG, has finalised plans to acquire Altus for US$2.2 billion. Altus announced the deal in February, and yesterday its stockholders voted to accept the offer, which will see Altus stockholders receive US$5 in cash for each share, and the company transition to be a privately-owned organisation.

Castillo and NSE to deliver New York EPC work

US developer Seaboard Solar has selected engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firms Castillo Engineering and NSE to deliver EPC services for three solar projects in New York state.

The projects, which will be built across the towns of East Greenbush, Kinderhook and Wilton, will have a combined capacity of 31.49MW, and Castillo noted that they will provide “unique engineering challenges”, including the installation of solar modules across uneven terrain.

“These projects required innovative engineering solutions to balance technical constraints and cost-effectiveness, and our team worked closely with NSE to optimise designs without sacrificing efficiency,” said Christopher Castillo, CEO of Castillo Engineering.

While 2024 was a bumper year for the New York utility-scale sector – with around 400MW of new solar capacity added – community solar has long dominated the New York solar industry, which was the ninth-largest industry by operational capacity in the US as of the end of 2024. The state added close to 800MW of new community solar capacity in 2024, following three consecutive years of adding around 400MW each year.

Indeed, according to figures from CCSA, New York was one of three states to account for more than two-thirds of the new community solar capacity installed in 2024, alongside Maine and Illinois. Last year was a record year for community solar additions, with the US adding 1.7GW of new capacity, a 35% year-on-year increase.

A new report from CCSA has highlighted the potential economic benefits that can come from investments into the community solar space, finding that the addition of 1GW of new community solar capacity could create 18,650 jobs and generate US$2.8 billion in local economic impacts.

The report, ‘The Economic Impact of Community Solar’, finds that the US could unlock more than US$120 billion nationwide by greater investments into the community solar sector, arguing that the short development timelines of community solar – noting that “community solar projects are typically online in 12 to 18 months” – means the sector is best-placed to meet growing electricity demand across the US.

CCSA also suggests that these benefits will be felt in some of the largest solar markets in the US. Its report notes that greater investments in community solar could create 25,000 full-time jobs in the industry leading state of California, and deliver US$12 billion in “economic impact”.

“This is the energy policy equivalent of finding a US$100 bill on the sidewalk—if you’re a governor or a legislator and you walk past it, you’re doing your state a disservice,” said Jeff Cramer, CCSA CEO. “States are running out of time and options. Community solar is fast, cost-effective, and it works.”

PV Tech publisher Solar Media will be organising the fourth edition of Large Scale Solar USA in Dallas, Texas 29-30 April. After a record year for solar PV additions in the US, the event will dive into the ongoing uncertainties on tariffs, tax credits and trade policies as more domestic manufacturing becomes operational. Other challenges, such as the interconnection queues and permitting, will also be covered in Dallas. More information, including how to attend, can be read here.