New England Clean Energy - Rhode Island Office

We've had our solar array for a number of years now, and I couldn't be more satisfied. The folks at NECE got us through all the paperwork and installation, then followed up for years. I had a problem for the first time in I don't know how many years, and they were on the spot in quick order. They found that I had a damaged data line and had it fixed quickly. Highly recommended!

My Solar PV system had been operating for a little over 10 years when my power inverter appeared to have failed. My system installer, Astrum Solar, got out of the residential solar business, and although they did honor their 10 year warranty contract, it expired before my system failed. I’m now what is referred to as a “Solar Orphan”. What was I to do? So I searched the internet and found others in my predicament. Not many Installers are willing to take on Solar Orphans. While searching I came across positive reviews for New England Clean Energy (NECE) who services orphaned systems. I gave them a call. They responded promptly to emails and texts. They were extremely helpful and were willing to repair my system, and deal with SolarEdge, the power inverter manufacturer. My inverter was still under warranty so I arranged to have the replacement delivered to my house. NECE arranged with SolarEdge to be the new service provider and got my SolarEdge account switched over. When the new inverter arrived, NECE set up an appointment and sent a technician to test my system and install the inverter. The technician arrived on time (can you believe it!), was friendly, courteous, and very competent. He ran into some difficulties between the old and new versions of the SolarEdge inverter but quickly solved the issues. Within an hour, the new inverter was mounted on my house in place of the old, it was communicating with all the optimizers and solar panels, and I was back in production. An hour after that I could see my solar panels and production rates via the SolarEdge app. This demonstrated how savvy the technician was and the overall competence of NECE. Another tidbit: once I called NECE and I couldn’t get through. A few minutes later I receive a text message asking what’s up. I hadn’t even left a callback message! Even a week after the repair they helped me locate a reputable and helpful Aggregator so that I can once again collect RECs (Renewable Energy Credits). Clearly, NECE is exceptional, and I told them so. You don’t’ often get that kind of customer experience. That’s why I highly recommend them. And if my experience is any measure, I’m quite sure NECE’s full installations are just as good. In a way, I wish I had selected NECE as my original installer.

Great customer service. Had a small issue with my system. They were quick to respond and took care of the problem. Highly recommend this company.

Mark Durrenberger and the New England Clean Energy Team are fantastic. They did a great install. Super professional. Easy to work with. Could not ask for more. Will be recommending NECE to all of our friends and family.

NECE was very professional to work with. Communication was outstanding throughout the project. Every part of the project proceeded just as promised. I would highly recommend them to anyone considering solar.

Not a good experience. The incorrect meter application was submitted so I do not have REG but REF. So I am not getting the benefit of selling unused power at a higher rate. Go solar, just not with NE Clean Energy

The team at New England Clean Energy worked together to get our solar project completed and online on time and on budget. They were a pleasure to work with. Highest recommendation!!!

We knew from friends that the installation date would be an unknown but the excellent work would make this uncertainty worth it. The solar array was designed pre-install but the battery location was decided by the installer on the day. However, it’s now almost six months post install (Jan 2023) and the panels and batteries are sitting there not doing anything while we pay power bills. This is due to changes in energy storage permitting occurring in Dec 2022 post contract execution, but pre-install. These standards were not incorporated into the plans by New England Clean Energy (NECE), or detected by our town as a permit for an energy storage device was not submitted and the initial drawings provided to the town did not include batteries. When the first inspector turned up they saw the batteries and walked away as they weren’t on the plans. We gave it a few weeks and asked for an update, we were told by NECE that everything was okay and we were just waiting on the fire department for battery inspection. They said they couldn’t get hold of the FD and it would be useful if I could try and speak to them. I secured an inspection time and gave NECE >48hrs headsup of it, NECE did not attend this on April 3rd. The plans did not include the correct battery location and our FD’s interpretation of standards meant they could not permit the system as no crash protection was in place. We were given clear guidance on what they wanted. From this time until now NECE has spent three months finding the cheapest way to meet the FD needs despite serious personal reasons we have to get battery backup online asap. We remained cooperative while this was called a permitting delay. However once a plan was finally determined NECE advised us that they will be reasonable and cover the cost of relocating the system they drilled into our concrete foundation to another wall in the garage, but we need to discuss the extra costs of a PE stamp and safety bollard install. Looking at prior reviews not knowing town codes seems to be common across reviews, and 100% it is not easy to know different town nuances, and the guidance provided by the State to installers is very poor, but navigating code is not the customers job and once we had what the FD wanted done on Apr 3rd we should have developed an action plan. It varies town by town, it’s terrible for installers but resolved normally at permitting, but this requires the correct permits and drawings to be submitted. Increased job costs would normally be identified here. I asked NECE managers for a coordinated response in April and heard nothing. We have since helped lobby the state and prodded NECE to use the phone and not just say emails are unanswered. Saying that battery install requirements weren’t enforced for a couple of months after code was released pre-install is not a defense. In April when we got FD guidance we would have discussed additional cost, but poor project management and drawing out the timeline to get compliance costs down when it’s a extra cost they want to be reasonable with us about is not okay after ongoing power bills and the ~95% job cost we have paid in line with payment schedule. We asked about schedule variation in June and the need was discounted by NECE. Plus we still don’t know if the stove will work on batteries, as there is a problem they had on another job and we need to wait and see. Not sure when we’ll find that out as we need to be online first.

It is refreshing to work with local professionals. Any concerns or questions I had were responded to in a timely manner. The installers were very respectful of my home and property. I recommended NECE to my neighbors who also installed panels!