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May 14, 2024

QCells completes solar and energy-storage projects in Cheshire, Newington

PHOTO | Hanwha Aerospace USA Hanwah Aerospace USA is headquartered at 5 McKee Place in Cheshire.

Irvine, California-based QCells and Cheshire-based Hanwha Aerospace USA (HAU) said Tuesday they have completed installing solar and energy-storage projects in Cheshire and Newington.

The projects are among the first to use the state’s Energy Storage Solutions (ESS) program that provides residential and commercial customers with incentives to install energy storage at their home or business and to use energy storage to the benefit of the grid and electric customers.

Launched in 2022 by Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA), the nine-year ESS program is managed by Connecticut Green Bank along with Eversource and United Illuminating. 

HAU is the first manufacturer in the state to benefit from the ESS program. Under a 20-year power purchase agreement, Qcells will provide HAU with nearly 20% of its energy needs. The combined solar and battery storage also effectively supplies backup power for critical loads during outages.  

The two projects are located at HAU’s corporate headquarters at 5 McKee Place in Cheshire, and its facility at 275 Richard St. in Newington. HAU also has facilities in East Windsor and Glastonbury.

Combined, the projects will produce 1.7 megawatts (MW) of solar power and store 1.2 megawatt-hours (MWh) of energy. Qcells provided service that covered design, permitting, construction and operating the systems, and will also conduct power consumption pattern analysis. 

Over the life of the agreement, Qcells’ solar and storage systems are expected to reap more than $2 million in energy savings, the company said. The projects also are anticipated to eliminate the release of more than 32,000 metric tons of CO2, equal to taking more than 7,000 gas-powered vehicles off the road for a year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calculator. 

Qcells’ projects for HAU were also made possible by incentives under the federal Inflation Reduction Act, which provides a 30% tax credit for both storage and solar installations.

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