Reduce What Your Campus Pays for Electricity. Redirect the Savings to Students.
Plankton Energy develops, builds, and operates commercial solar for private schools, independent schools, language institutes, and universities. Fixed PPA rate. No capital outlay. Structure matched to your institution's tax status and budget.
- Fix what your campus pays for electricity for the full contract term, at a rate below the utility tariff
- No upfront capital. The financial structure is matched to what your school's budget and tax status actually support.
- Tax-exempt institutions have additional options other property types don't. Direct Pay under Section 6417 lets qualifying schools access the 30% federal ITC directly.
- Clients are always contracted with a Plankton entity. Plankton remains the O&M operator throughout the agreement.
A quick note before you submit: Plankton works on commercial-scale projects. Campuses with rooftops under 10,000 sq ft or parking lots under 25,000 sq ft fall outside our current programs.
Thank you for reaching out to Plankton Energy.
We have received your request. A member of our development team will be in touch shortly to discuss your campus.
Thank you for your interest.
We are not a good fit at this time. We work on commercial projects with a rooftop above 10,000 sq ft or a parking lot above 25,000 sq ft.
Commercial Solar on Educational Campuses. Operating and Producing Now.
537 kW Rooftop Campus Solar System
299 kW Rooftop Solar System
229 kW Rooftop Solar System
203 kW Rooftop Solar System
Three Reasons Educational Institutions Walk Away From Solar. None of Them Have to Be Deal-Breakers.
Most schools that have looked at solar before walked away for one of three reasons. All three are solvable with the right structure and the right developer.
Capital Budget Conflict
The proposal required a capital investment the board couldn't approve in the current cycle. Solar doesn't have to work that way. A PPA or Site Lease puts Plankton in the ownership seat. The school pays for electricity, not infrastructure. No capital line item, no board vote on capital expenditure.
Tax Status Confusion
A developer told the school it couldn't benefit from the federal ITC because it's tax-exempt. That's no longer accurate. Section 6417 Direct Pay lets qualifying tax-exempt institutions receive the 30% ITC as a direct cash payment. The structure question is which ownership model makes sense for your specific situation, not whether the ITC applies.
Construction Disruption Concern
Administration didn't want contractors on an active campus during the school year. Plankton has completed rooftop installations on active school campuses by working around student schedules, transportation patterns, and safety zones. The West Elementary School project in New Canaan is one example. Construction coordination on educational facilities is a specific competency, not a workaround.
The Right Structure Depends on Your Institution. Three Options, One Developer.
Plankton is structure-agnostic. The portfolio assessment identifies which of these fits your campus based on your tax status, budget, and roof situation. Most schools elect a PPA or Site Lease. Some private institutions with tax appetite choose Direct Purchase to capture the full ITC value themselves.
Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)
Plankton owns the system. The campus purchases electricity from Plankton at a fixed rate below the utility tariff. No capital investment, no maintenance responsibility, predictable pricing for the full contract term. Plankton captures the ITC as system owner.
Site Lease
Plankton rents the roof or parking lot, installs and operates the system, and sells electricity to community solar subscribers. The school receives fixed annual lease payments with no capital outlay, no operational involvement, and no electricity rate impact. Works well when the campus doesn't need the electricity offset directly.
Direct Purchase
The institution buys the system outright and captures the full economic benefit including utility savings, incentive income, and the federal ITC. Tax-exempt institutions can access the ITC as a direct cash payment through Section 6417 Direct Pay, without needing tax equity. Requires capital but maximizes long-term return.
What School Solar Looks Like in Each Active Market
Every state has a different incentive stack and interconnection process. Tax-exempt institutions also have access to mechanisms that for-profit entities don't. Here is what applies to schools and universities in each market where Plankton's pipeline is active.
Massachusetts
SMART 3.0 provides fixed per-kWh payments determined annually. For a school hosting a community solar system under a Site Lease, those payments flow to Plankton and support competitive lease rates. For a PPA, SMART adders reduce Plankton's project cost and flow through to a more competitive electricity rate. Tax-exempt institutions can access Direct Pay for the 30% ITC if they choose to own.
New Jersey
SuSI pays fixed rates per MWh for 15 years. Princeton Montessori is an active Plankton project under SuSI. Tax-exempt private schools in NJ can access Direct Pay to receive the 30% ITC directly. PSE&G interconnection requires engineering coordination specific to the utility territory.
California
Campuses with significant daytime electricity consumption, year-round operations, labs, residential halls with AC, are the strongest CA candidates. NEM 3.0 rewards that load pattern. Tax-exempt institutions can access Direct Pay for the 30% ITC without third-party tax equity.
Rhode Island
REF grants reduce total project cost upfront. Tax-exempt institutions can pair REF with Direct Pay for the 30% ITC in a Direct Purchase structure. National Grid RI interconnection benefits from the same utility knowledge our team applies in Massachusetts.
New York
NY-Sun C&I pays upfront per watt. Vassar College's AFC Building in Poughkeepsie is an active Plankton project completed under NY-Sun. Tax-exempt universities and private schools can access Direct Pay for the 30% ITC. Con Ed and National Grid NY interconnection are filed and coordinated across the metro area.
Plankton Is Always the Contracted Entity. Plankton Remains the O&M Operator for the Full Term.
Most solar deals involve a developer who sells, a financier who buys, and a servicer who operates. Three counterparties over 20 years. Plankton develops, builds, and operates every system. The client is always contracted with a Plankton entity. When Plankton owns a project, ownership sits inside a Plankton investment fund with an approximate 7 to 10 year life. At that point, the asset will most likely move to another Plankton fund. What does not change: the contract is never flipped to an outside party, and Plankton remains the O&M operator regardless of which internal fund holds the asset. Clients remain contracted with a Plankton entity throughout the agreement.
Portfolio Assessment
Our development team reviews your campus, roof situation, utility territory, and tax status. You receive a property-specific financial model showing what PPA, Site Lease, and Direct Purchase each look like for your institution. Delivered in less than a month.
Engineering and Interconnection
Our internal team manages structural review, permitting, and utility interconnection from day one. Construction is coordinated around your academic calendar. Active campus safety requirements are part of our standard process.
Installation and Long-Term Operation
We build with our own EPC team and manage operations after installation. The campus gets clean energy at a fixed rate, and Plankton handles system performance for the full contract term.
30% Federal ITC, Active Through December 31, 2027
The Investment Tax Credit under Section 48E is preserved for projects placed in service by December 31, 2027. Tax-exempt educational institutions can access it directly as a cash payment through Section 6417 Direct Pay. The portfolio assessment will identify which structure fits your campus and where your project stands relative to that deadline based on your utility territory and roof situation.
Request Portfolio Assessment