Every minute, enough energy from the sun hits the earth’s surface to power the planet for an entire year.

Hoping to channel some of that energy and convert it into electricity to power Massachusetts homes and businesses, former Army captains Daniel Leary and Will Thompson in 2006 established Nexamp, Inc. The North Andover company has grown to include offices in Boston, Hartford, and Providence with 35 employees.

Considered a leading solar power producer, Nexamp delivers integrated solutions, from project development and financing through construction and asset management. The company started out installing solar panels on homes, then grew to include commercial clients and finally evolved into a developer of utility-scale solar projects, including the Westford Solar Park, New England’s largest privately owned solar energy facility.

“We are involved in all aspects of the solar industry,” said Thompson, noting that the company has built dozens of arrays in Massachusetts, having a combined capacity of nearly 20 megawatts.

Massachusetts spends about $22 billion annually on energy, of which about $18 billion leaves the state. Renewable projects offer the opportunity to reduce this trend, creating local jobs while curbing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing energy security, and lowering long-term energy costs, according to Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources Commissioner Mark Sylvia.

In 2010, Nexamp was awarded more than $20 million through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to build a total of 4.5 megawatts of power capacity on 13 public water and waste water treatment facilities across Massachusetts, including the Chelmsford Crooked Spring Water Treatment Facility and the Greater Lawrence Sanitary District in North Andover. It was the largest government contract awarded for a solar energy project.

The 441 kilowatt project in North Andover was completed last year. The 485-kilowatt solar array in Chelmsford was completed in 2010 and has generated enough electricity to offset 895,795 pounds of carbon dioxide, or 978,137 miles worth of vehicle emissions, by providing about half of the power required for the water treatment plant.

“As a municipality concerned with saving money and reducing our carbon footprint, we are proud to power our water treatment plant with solar energy,” said Robert Delaney, superintendent of the Chelmsford Water District, noting that from April to December 2011, the array saved the town $45,260 in electrical costs.

Delaney recently learned that the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has named the district an award winner for energy and water conservation. The honor, he said, is due in large measure to the array, which has curbed the plant’s energy costs by about 40 percent.

Nexamp’s other public projects include a 101-kilowatt array at Nashoba Valley Technical High School in Westford and an 8-kilowatt array at the Adams Library in Chelmsford. The company’s local commercial projects include a 398-kilowatt solar array for Devonshire Investments in Everett; a 110-kilowatt array for General Mills in Methuen; and a 110-kilowatt array for Aero Manufacturing in Beverly. Nexamp also contributed to the recent facelift of the Old House at Appleton Farms in Ipswich, established in 1636.

and the oldest continuously operating farm in the country.

The company installed solar and photovoltaic systems for hot water and energy, helping to transform the Old House, at the heart of a 1,000-acre site, into a Center for Agriculture and the Environment.

The building is a model of sustainability and energy conservation; it has earned a Platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the US Green Building Council.

“The recipe for Nexamp’s success is part team, part business model, and part Massachusetts clean energy leadership,” Thompson said, noting that the state’s “two feet-in commitment to fostering and increasing the use of renewable energy in all its forms has set Massachusetts apart as a leader for other states to emulate.”

Brenda J. Buote may be reached at brenda.buote@gmail.com.