Organization for Refugee & Immigrant Success (ORIS) | Dunbarton, NH
By the numbers:
System size: 142.6 kilowatts DC (378 solar panels)
System output: 181,231 kilowatt-hours/year
CO₂ reduction: 177,788 pounds/year
Year Completed: 2022
In Fall of 2022, ReVision Energy partnered with ORIS (Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success) to build a 142.6 kW ground mounted solar array at one of their farm properties in Dunbarton. ORIS’s mission is to aid in the resettlement of refugees and immigrants by providing assistance, training, resources, and opportunities that promote self-sufficiency.
The system will offset the electricity usage of ORIS Fresh Start LMI farmer-members and their families. It is funded through a combination of the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission LMI solar grant and charitable donations. ReVision Energy supported ORIS with the PUC grant application and helped raise matching funds from donor sources.
The property in Dunbarton is one of the homes of ORIS’ New American Sustainable Agriculture Project (NASAP) that assists new Americans to build sustainable farm enterprises. More than 40 New American farmers and self-sustainable gardeners farm on ORIS-owned and leased land in Dunbarton, Boscawen, and Concord, New Hampshire, as well as several smaller-scale community gardeners.
Their organic produce is sold wholesale to schools and businesses, at farmers’ markets across the state, through the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program and SNAP accessible neighborhood farm stands in the greater Manchester area.
In 2021, a team of ReVision Energy volunteers spent hours securing four solar panels (REC 375 commercial 72-cell modules) to the roof of ORIS’ Mobile Market and wiring them through the inverter to 4 lead-acid batteries that provide over 10 kWh of storage.
The Mobile Market is a farm stand on wheels that delivers fresh food directly to neighborhoods. It serves as a link between New Hampshire farmers and communities with limited access to locally-grown produce and healthy food. Read more on our blog: ORIS Mobile Food Market Adds Solar-Powered Refrigeration (revisionenergy.com)
