Meadow Ridge Flips Switch on Award-Winning Solar Project
December 26, 2024
REDDING, CT — Meadow Ridge, a CCRC in this city a few miles south of Danbury, Connecticut, has flipped the switch to solar, energizing an installation that will supply 897,700 kilowatt-hours of electricity each year. According to a press release, the project is the long-time vision of Meadow Ridge’s resident-led Solar Committee; it broke ground in August.
“This is an exciting day on many levels,” said Meadow Ridge CEO Brett Mehlman. “We can all feel good that we are making this investment in the future of our community and our planet while realizing immediate benefits. In 2025, we expect that over 20 percent of the power we use at Meadow Ridge will be generated by solar.”
The solar arrays at Meadow Ridge will save an estimated $7.6 million in electricity costs over the life of the project while offsetting 605 metric tons of carbon each year. That’s the equivalent of the annual emissions from gasoline-powered vehicles driving over 1.5 million miles.
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In a ceremony attended by state and local dignitaries, Mehlman and resident Susan Auslander symbolically energized the project by flipping a giant switch. Two of the project’s three solar arrays are on top of carports over employee parking areas. The third is on the roof of Ridge Crest, Meadow Ridge’s sub-acute rehabilitation and skilled nursing center.
“I’m so proud that we are leading by example at Meadow Ridge,” said Auslander, who has been dubbed the “Green Granny” for her work leading the Solar Committee and advocating for the project. “It took both shared vision and courage for the residents, ownership, and management of Meadow Ridge to bring this project to life. I’d also like to thank all of the partners who helped make this happen.”
The project was designed and built by West Hartford-based Verogy and financed through a combination of zero-emission renewable energy credits (ZRECS) through Eversource, investment tax credits, and a commercial property-assessed clean energy (CPACE) loan from the Connecticut Green Bank.
Meadow Ridge is owned by Redding Life Care, LLC, which is owned by affiliates of Senior Care Development, LLC, and Benchmark Senior Living. The community, located in this picturesque town and recognized for excellence by U.S. News and World Report, is managed by Benchmark Senior Living LLC. Meadow Ridge sits on 136 acres and offers 285 independent-living apartment homes, as well as assisted living and memory care. The campus also features Ridge Crest, an award-winning, sub-acute rehabilitation and skilled nursing center.