Northern Lights Services is a nonprofit serving our senior community with assisted living and skilled nursing care. They have struggled over the last decades to meet financial obligations because of underfunding from Federal and state sources. This solar project would benefit the seniors they serve by reducing NLS' electric bills by $14K per year, allowing those funds to be reallocated to better serve their clients.  The project demonstrates advanced high-efficiency ground-mounted bifacial solar panels which increases solar generation from reflected light, especially effective in the snow belt. CBR will be donating $5K of matching funds, which when combined with community funds will purchase 30 of the 68 panels needed.  

The project will be a 120kW dc ground-mounted solar installation.  One half of the solar panels have been donated by a Solar for Good grant.  Nokomis Energy, a solar developer based in Minneapolis has also donated panels.  Together, the two grants cover about 2/3rds of the solar panels that will be needed for the project. The last 1/3, we hope to fundraise through the community via a GoFundMe Me site and matching donations from CBR and other corporate sponsors.  

The project was approved by the NLS board on August 3, 2022, after receiving contractor bids. Construction is slated to begin in September with installation complete by the end of October, 2022.