ECA Solar
ECA Solar is a private, employee-owned community-scale solar and battery storage developer serving residential, small-business, and municipal subscribers across the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest, with 200+ projects and a 1.3 GW pipeline.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersWaltham, United States
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What ECA Solar does
ECA Solar is a community-scale solar developer founded in 2014 and headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, with an engineering office in Nashua, New Hampshire. The company develops, owns, and operates distributed solar and — under its 2024-2026 rebrand to ECA Power — battery energy storage and integrated "energy campus" projects for residential, small-business, and municipal subscribers. Its portfolio spans 200+ projects across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island, New York, Illinois, and Maryland, with 150 MW shovel-ready and a 1.3 GW total pipeline.
The company's core technical offering is a six-stage development and asset management process — Site Control, Development, Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Asset Management — supported by an in-house civil engineering team (recently expanded from 1 to 4 personnel) and a community engagement program branded "Beyond the Grid." Revenue is generated through a mix of land lease/easement agreements with individual landowners, project development fees, portfolio sales to institutional acquirers (e.g., Greenbacker, Safari Energy), long-term asset management contracts, and direct community solar subscription off-take from end subscribers and small businesses. Recent expansion includes Maryland (Old Princess Anne 2.25 MW, Croom 3.9 MW CPCN filings), Illinois (Cherry Valley, Zion), and battery storage integration.
ECA is a private, 100% employee-owned firm. It has executed multiple inorganic moves to scale — the 2021 acquisition of six projects from Safari Energy, the 2022 acquisition of a 16.3 MWdc portfolio from Greenbacker, a 2021 partnership with Standard Solar on Bethel, Maine, and a 2026 partnership with Luminace — alongside organic geographic and product expansion. The business model is asset-light on the development side (the company has deployed $13M into land control) and increasingly asset-heavy on the operating side as it retains and manages developed projects.
ECA Solar firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ECA Solar
- Legal name
- ECA Solar
- Website
- https://ecasolar.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- ECA Solar is a private, employee-owned community-scale solar and battery storage developer serving residential, small-business, and municipal subscribers across the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest, with 200+ projects and a 1.3 GW pipeline.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ECA Solar industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Community Solar & Energy Storage Development
- NAICS
- Solar Electric Power Generation (221114)
- SIC
- Electric Services (4911), Cogeneration Services & Small Power Producers (4991)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Utility-Scale PV EPC (Engineering, Procurement & Construction) (EUACAGAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Civil & Site Works EPC (Earthworks, Roads, Drainage, Foundations) (EUAEADAA), Electrical Balance-of-Plant EPC (MV Collection, Cabling, Earthing, Lighting) (EUAEADAB), Solar EPC & Construction (Utility-Scale, Rooftop, Balance of System) (EUAMABAB)
Keywords
Where ECA Solar is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Waltham
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
ECA Solar business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Solar Project Development and Investment: Delivering de-risked, shovel-ready solar projects to investors who have mandates to deploy MWs of power each year. Projects are fully permitted and ready for construction, streamlining the investment process.
- Community Solar Subscriptions: Community members subscribe to solar energy credits, receiving clean energy at discounted rates (typically 10% savings) without installing panels on their property
- Land Leasing: Partnering with landowners to create flexible, long-term land solutions that generate income while preserving land for future community use
- Land Acquisition and Development: Acquiring land parcels for development potential and holding for strategic worth; 800+ acres purchased with $13M deployed capital
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Community Solar Subscriptions - discounted clean energy for subscribers |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
ECA Solar product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ECA Solar (now ECA Power) develops community-scale solar and energy storage projects, delivering de-risked, fully permitted shovel-ready assets to investors while offering community members discounted clean energy subscriptions. The company develops ground-mounted solar arrays, rooftop installations, solar carport systems, and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), and partners with landowners on long-term land leases to secure site control for distributed generation projects across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic United States.
Product overview
ECA Solar (now ECA Power) operates as a community-scale solar developer offering an integrated platform of distributed generation solutions. The core offering comprises Community Solar Projects that enable grid diversification through high-quality solar installations, supported by Land Leasing services for landowners and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) for enhanced energy management. The company delivers projects across multiple form factors including Ground Mount Solar, Rooftop Solar Arrays, and Solar Carport Systems, all accessible through Community Solar Subscriptions that provide subscribers with clean energy bill credits. Additional services include Land Holdings acquisition for strategic site control and the Beyond the Grid community initiative that extends company impact beyond energy production into local community support.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Beyond the Grid: Community benefit initiative focused on supporting communities where ECA Power develops clean energy projects. The program invests in local organizations, infrastructure, and resources through partnerships with fire departments, schools, and community groups.
Products and services
- Community Solar Projects Distributed generation solar projects that enable community members to subscribe to locally generated clean energy, providing grid diversification and benefits to landowners and communities. ECA develops and delivers these projects to investors fully permitted and construction-ready.
- Land Leasing Partnership offering for landowners that creates flexible, long-term solutions generating income while preserving land, building relationships rooted in trust and community impact.
- Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) Energy storage solutions integrated with solar projects to enhance grid reliability and enable better energy management and distribution.
- Ground Mount Solar Large-scale ground-mounted solar installations on owned or leased land, ranging from 2 MW to 7+ MW per project site, such as the 4 MW Woburn, MA and 7.4 MW Cherry Valley, IL projects.
- Solar Carport Systems Custom-designed solar carport installations that maximize available space for clean energy generation while providing covered parking, as deployed at the Canton, MA project.
- Rooftop Solar Arrays Solar installations mounted on commercial and industrial building rooftops to generate clean energy, exemplified by the Canton, MA installation and the 16.3-MWdc Massachusetts rooftop portfolio acquired by Greenbacker.
- Community Solar Subscriptions Program allowing community members to subscribe to local solar projects and receive credits on their electricity bills, typically offering approximately 10% savings on clean energy without installing panels on their own property.
Quantifiable outcome
- 150MW of shovel-ready, fully permitted solar assets
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use ECA Solar
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
ECA Solar technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
ECA Solar partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- LuminacecoreECA Power and Luminace partnered on community solar projects including the Hurlock, Maryland project (2.27 MWdc / 2.00 MWac) and Salisbury, Maryland project (3 MW). Luminace serves as a co-development partner for these distributed generation solar projects delivering clean energy to utility customers.
- Standard SolarcoreECA Power partnered with Standard Solar to develop the Bethel Community Solar Project in Maine (5.77 MW, 14,448 modules). Standard Solar was a co-development partner for the project completed in 2021.
Scale indicators12 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
ECA Solar competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Standard Solar: Community and distributed solar developer that has partnered with ECA on the Bethel, ME project. Operates similar community solar development, owns-and-operates, and co-development models across multiple US states.
- Greenbacker Renewable Energy: Acquired a 16.3 MWdc MA operating portfolio from ECA in 2022. Greenbacker develops, owns, and operates community and utility-scale solar assets across the US, directly comparable as both a developer and acquirer of community solar.
- Luminace: Co-development partner on ECA's Hurlock and Salisbury, MD community solar projects. Luminace focuses on community solar development and ownership with overlapping customer base and project economics.
- Safari Energy: Acquired six MA solar projects from ECA in 2021. Safari Energy is a community and distributed solar developer and acquirer with a similar Northeast US footprint and project-development focus.
- Pivot Energy: National community solar developer with comparable subscription-based community solar offering. Targets similar utility service territories and serves community subscribers, landowners, and investors.
- Dimension Energy: Community solar developer with projects in multiple states including the Mid-Atlantic. Comparable business model focused on developing and monetizing community solar projects for institutional buyers.
- Nautilus Solar Energy: Community and distributed solar developer and owner-operator active across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Comparable in target geography, project size profile (1-10 MW community solar), and customer segment (subscribers and institutional investors).
Emerging players
- Arcadia: Operates a community-solar subscriber management platform and increasingly develops community solar assets. Comparable subscriber-facing side of the business and is an emerging adjacent player in distributed solar.
Broad incumbents
- Clearway Community Energy: Owns and operates a large US community solar portfolio. Competes for the same subscriber base and institutional capital, but with significantly greater scale and balance sheet.
- Solstice (ENGIE): One of the largest US community solar developers (now part of ENGIE). Operates community solar subscriber programs with a national footprint that overlaps with ECA's target customers.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
ECA Solar social profiles
Digital presenceECA Solar financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ECA Solar leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
ECA Solar funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ECA Solar M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about ECA Solar
What does ECA Solar do?
ECA Solar (now ECA Power) develops community-scale solar and energy storage projects, delivering de-risked, fully permitted shovel-ready assets to investors while offering community members discounted clean energy subscriptions. The company develops ground-mounted solar arrays, rooftop installations, solar carport systems, and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), and partners with landowners on long-term land leases to secure site control for distributed generation projects across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic United States.
Is ECA Solar a public or private company?
ECA Solar is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was ECA Solar founded?
ECA Solar was founded in 2014.
Where is ECA Solar based?
ECA Solar is headquartered in Waltham, United States, in the North America region.
How does ECA Solar make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Solar Project Development and Investment is the primary driver. The others are community Solar Subscriptions, land Leasing and land Acquisition and Development.
Who are ECA Solar's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Standard Solar, Greenbacker Renewable Energy, Luminace, Safari Energy, Pivot Energy, Dimension Energy and Nautilus Solar Energy. Arcadia is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Clearway Community Energy and Solstice (ENGIE).
Does ECA Solar have an API?
No public API is recorded for ECA Solar.
What industry is ECA Solar in?
ECA Solar's product category is Community Solar & Energy Storage Development. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUACAGAB, Utility-Scale PV EPC (Engineering, Procurement & Construction), with a secondary code of EUAEADAA, Civil & Site Works EPC (Earthworks, Roads, Drainage, Foundations). Its NAICS code is 221114 and its SIC code is 4911.