Katie Shelton, senior manager of market engagement at the Connecticut Green Bank, told the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments that the bank’s Solar MAP and Solar MAP Plus programs provide no‑cost technical assistance and project development support to municipalities, schools and (as of January) affordable multifamily housing.

"We provide no cost technical assistance and project development support for solar and battery storage," Shelton said, describing a third‑party ownership model in which the Green Bank or a financing partner owns systems, bears development costs and shares revenue with property owners and residents.

Shelton said a recent change in state incentives moved qualified affordable multifamily projects into the residential incentive program, roughly doubling the revenue value available to projects. "The value of the revenue contract that can now be secured in the residential program is about double what it was previously — just over 37¢ a kilowatt hour," she said, adding that the program requires tenant benefit sharing: individually metered residents get an on‑bill credit (roughly 20% of the state incentive) while master‑metered properties receive tenant benefit funding for eligible improvements.

For municipal projects Shelton described two PPA structures: a "buy all, sell all" arrangement that sells all output to the grid with on‑bill credits to the property owner, and a netting PPA that ties panels behind a meter for on‑site consumption under a fixed discounted rate for 20 years. In either option, she said, the third‑party owner handles operations and maintenance and there is no out‑of‑pocket expense for the owner.

Members asked about roof warranties and mid‑project roof work. Shelton said the industry uses an "overburden waiver" process with third‑party pre‑installation inspections and post‑installation inspections to preserve warranties. She said that under a PPA structure, if roof work is needed mid‑project, the municipality would be responsible for removal and reinstallation costs.

Shelton said the Green Bank now includes affordable multifamily housing as a core market segment and can pair battery storage assessments with solar at no cost. She offered to share a deck and lists of eligible sites published by utilities for towns interested in exploring projects.

Next steps described for interested towns included contacting the Green Bank to request a Solar MAP assessment and reviewing utility lists of eligible sites; Shelton emphasized there is no participation fee and the Green Bank manages the development process through construction.