The past meets the future at historic Saxonville Mills in Framingham, MA as Creative
Development Co., SolarFlair Energy, Inc. and Brookline Bank team up to install a 498KW PV solar
energy system. Saxonville Mills, originally built in 1884 as a textile mill, was remodeled into commercial
building space during the 1970’s. The mill is host to a wide range of tenants including high-tech, retail
and studio artists. Now Creative Development Co., owner of Saxonville Mills, is updating the 19th century
buildings with 21st century technology to generate electricity using renewable energy from the sun.
Creative Development Co. owns and operates office and warehouse space throughout Eastern Massachusetts. Founded in 1970, the company specializes inmodernizing historic spaces for contemporary commercial use. Their diverse portfolio of property attracts many types and sizes of Massachusetts businesses. Creative Development maintains offices in Framingham and Newton Upper Falls.
The solar electric system will consist of 1,780 panels from Suntech and two Solectria SGI250
inverters. SolarFlair Energy, a Framingham based company, will design and install
the turn-key system. Upon completion, this will be the largest solar energy installation in the Framingham
area. The solar panels will be mounted on three of the mill’s nine buildings. One of the buildings (number
seven) dates back to the early 1800’s. Each year approximately 391,000 pounds of CO2 will be offset by
this renewable energy system. This much clean energy is the equivalent of planting 889 trees, flying
30,500 miles in an airplane, or driving 18,867 miles in an SUV each year.
Creative Development Co. will benefit from the ARRA Federal Stimulus 1603 Treasury Grant
and the Massachusetts Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC) program. The 1603 Grant will cover
30% of the project cost and will be paid within 60 days of project completion. In addition, for each KWh
produced by the PV system, Creative Development will save 14 cents in avoided electric utility cost
PLUS they’ll earn an SREC which can be sold to electric utilities needing to meet state renewable energy
mandates. Over the next 10 years the SREC market projects to add between 30 cents and 60 cents to the
value of each KWh of electricity produced, dramatically reducing payback periods and improving the
return on investment for solar system owners. SolarFlair Energy will advise Creative Development Co.
throughout the project life-cycle including design, installation, coordination with the utility company and
SREC brokers. “As a turn-key solar installer SolarFlair is there for our customers before, during, and after
construction of their solar energy system” said Matt Arner, President of SolarFlair Energy, Inc.
“SolarFlair is excited to see more Massachusetts property owners who are motivated to generate clean,
renewable energy as part of the ever growing green economy.” Both companies are generating
employment opportunities for our State in a sustainable manner.
According to John Finley, President of Creative Development Co., “We are pleased to partner
with SolarFlair Energy and Brookline Bank on this project. These are two local companies that think
outside of the box. Solar makes good business sense for our property. We hope the system will attract
environmentally conscious tenants and send a positive message to the community”. A spring ribbon
cutting ceremony is planned at the historic mill buildings’ new solar energy installation to celebrate
bringing Massachusetts one step closer to a renewable energy future.
