Amherst Solar

System Components: Solar
Project Type: Community solar farm
Location: Amherst, NY
Solution size: 6.4 MW
Date Commissioned: January 2023

The Need

New York State, a national climate leader, seeks projects to reach its goals of 6 gigawatts (GW) of distributed solar by 2025, 70 percent renewable energy by 2030, and 40 percent of clean energy investments benefiting disadvantaged communities. The state had a strong need for larger scale solar projects to deliver low-cost, zero-carbon power to the entire community.

After years of collaboration with community leaders, we are excited to see Catalyze bring this project to fruition. This will start decades of utility bill savings for the community members who stand to benefit most from affordable power.

The Amherst Community Solar farm is the first project in NYSERDA’s Community Solar Program to be sited in the Town of Amherst. The 6.4-megawatt (MW) solar farm will provide the entirety of its clean energy to the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority, which serves low-to-moderate income residential customers.

The Solution

After years of collaboration with community leaders, we.

The project will also utilize sheep, shepherded by a member of the Amherst community, to maintain the vegetation on site during the grazing season. Besides installing and operating the solar farm, Catalyze maintains the systems on-site to ensure its continued value-add for the community.

Elie Schecter
Managing Partner at OurGeneration