We’ve made three big announcements this week:

First, New England Clean Energy has opened an office in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

Second, we are now installing solar energy systems for customers on Cape Cod.

Third, we now have a solar loan available for second homes in Massachusetts.

The new Rhode Island office is at 413 Central Avenue, Suite 300, and appointments are available by calling 774-571-9475. We’ve been serving Rhode Island customers from our Hudson, Mass., office for several years, and solar is booming in the Ocean State, so opening a Rhode Island office was the natural next step for us.

Expanding our service area to the Cape was a tougher decision. I started this company with a commitment to minimize our carbon footprint, and that included not traveling far and wide, to avoid sitting in traffic and spewing pollutants. But we hear weekly from people who read about us on Solar Reviews and are disappointed to be told we don’t serve their town.

Plus, we now have a Solar Consultant — Todd Monjar, seen in this photo outside the Pawtucket office — who lives much closer to the Cape, so that addresses much of the travel concern.

So on balance, expanding to the Cape and helping even more people shift their electricity budgets to solar while helping the planet is a positive change in my mind.

Also relevant to the Cape, but also to many other beautiful parts of Massachusetts, is the fact that we can now offer a solar loan for second homes. Most banks don’t offer that option, and that’s prevented many a solar system from being installed. Now, homeowners can make their own clean energy on their vacation or rental homes, too.