April 22, 2010. The Mass. Department of Energy Resources awarded Florence Electric, LLC a $21 million contract funded by federal stimulus money for one of the largest solar installation projects in the commonwealth.

Florence Electric is partnering with Nexamp of North Andover, to install solar power at 12 public water and wastewater treatment facilities throughout Massachusetts. The two companies won the contract through a competitive solicitation by the Mass. Department of Energy Resources.

The project calls for the installation of 4.1 megawatts of solar energy that will enable these facilities to save nearly $650,000 per year by cutting annual conventional energy use by approximately 4-5 million kilowatt hours. Governor Deval Patrick’s office calculated that this energy savings is roughly equal to the energy needed to power 600 households per year.

Eli Florence, president of Florence Electric said, “This project will employ many local trades people in well-paying construction jobs and will benefit the local community in terms of employment and reducing dependence on foreign fuels. Moreover, this project represents a major step in creating several jobs in the green economy and is a win-win not only for the town, but for the state and country as well.”

The project includes municipal and regional facilities in Easton, Freetown, Ashland, Hyannis, Chelmsford, Fairhaven, Falmouth, Holden, Marlborough, Blackstone/Millbury, Pittsfield and Townsend. The 12 projects are funded from $185 million in federal stimulus dollars awarded to Massachusetts by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“We look forward to optimizing the Massachusetts solar stimulus funding to provide long-term savings to each of the sites while creating skilled, green collar jobs,” said Dan Leary, president of Nexamp.

The project is slated for completion some time this summer. [Nexamp correction: the projects are scheduled for completion by July 2011] Link to Article