Increasing Access to Affordable Energy Solutions with the Vermont Law & Graduate School

October 10, 2025

From weatherization and energy efficiency projects to solar arrays for ROCs, the Community Loan Fund works with partner organizations to help people, businesses, and nonprofits reduce their energy costs as part of our energy solutions lending and services.

One of our longest-running partnerships created a trail-blazing solution for manufactured-home owners — and, it’s also helped the next generation of legal professionals gain valuable skills along the way.

Q: How did the Community Loan Fund get involved?

Jeannie: First, the Energy Clinic connected with the Community Loan Fund and learned about New Hampshire’s new Low-Moderate Income Community Solar grant program funded by the Renewable Energy Fund that was administered, at the time, by the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission (it’s now administered by the N.H. Department of Energy).

Then, the Energy Clinic worked with ROC-NH to identify a ROC community that would be a good candidate to pilot the new program. Mascoma Meadows Cooperative was chosen due to a combination of factors — proximity to the law school, an excellent board of directors and strong community engagement, positive relationships with adjoining property owners and a good solar site, and town support for solar projects.

There were many other partners too: the Energy Clinic connected Mascoma Meadows to a local attorney — Eli Emmerson of Primmer Piper Eggleston & Cramer — who worked with the Energy Clinic to provide legal services. The neighboring Abundant Life Church of God donated the land.

We also helped the Energy Clinic learn about ROCs and ROC governance, which enabled the Energy Clinic to develop the first ROC community solar model.

By 2018, Mascoma Meadows was successful in getting one of the first-ever state Renewable Energy Fund grants for LMI community solar and worked with ReVision to install its 100 kW community solar array.

Q: What’s happened since then?

Jeannie: Based on the success of the Mascoma Meadows project, the Energy Clinic continued to collaborate with us to identify ROC communities which would be good candidates for community solar projects.

In addition, we jointly collaborated with legislators to pass legislation for the LMI Adder and engage in rule making at the PUC and NH Department of Energy to support LMI community solar.

Q: Why do you think the partnership has been so successful?

Jeannie: The Energy Clinic has made it possible to affordably implement ROC community solar projects by providing their energy regulation expertise and legal services to ROC communities pro bono. The Energy Clinic led the development of the ROC community solar model which we have worked together to refine, improve, and scale to reach more communities. To be successful, ROC community solar projects require a range of partnerships to provide a variety of technical assistance. The legal technical assistance provided by the Energy Clinic is a key component of the program’s success.

We are mutually committed to community resilience. ROC community solar projects help our communities to be more self-reliant and financially stable. The Energy Clinic and ROC-NH have worked together with solar developers, state agencies, and ROC communities to overcome the many barriers to low-moderate income communities having access to energy opportunities and the corresponding benefits.

This article was part of the 2025 impact report.