New Hampshire, home to some of the highest utility costs in the nation, could be fertile ground for community energy projects that promote lower-cost, renewable generation -- especially after investors in one shared solar array pioneered a strategy to promote greater local ownership.

Regulatory and legal roadblocks forced solar advocates in Keene to develop a comprehensive framework for adding a 43-kilowatt rooftop array to Monadnock Food Co-op, whose focus on sustainability and downtown location made it a natural partner. Still, when the group began exploring its options in 2013, community shared renewables represented unfamiliar territory in the Granite State.

Without a blueprint from other local projects, the group -- led by community members -- got to work. Peter Hansel, an investor in the project and part of its steering committee who helped develop its model, recently spoke with ILSR’s John Farrell about how it all came togethe