The projects expand Greenbacker’s presence in a supportive renewables state
PVTIME – Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC (“GREC” or “Greenbacker”), a leading owner and operator of sustainable infrastructure and energy efficiency projects, announced today that, through a wholly owned subsidiary, it has purchased a to-be-constructed solar portfolio in Maine, from ReneSola Power Holdings (“ReneSola”). The portfolio’s two projects—Athens Ridge (3.8 MWdc) and Mars Hill (2.8 MWdc)—deepen Greenbacker’s relationship with an established renewables developer with a robust pipeline of both community and utility-scale solar projects, as well as battery energy storage systems. The projects also diversify and expand Greenbacker’s fleet of sustainable infrastructure assets in Maine, a state with high demand and policy support for renewable energy.
These two projects are Greenbacker’s most recent in a history of successful renewable energy collaborations with ReneSola. During the first quarter of 2021, GREC purchased a pair of the developer’s Utah solar assets, totaling 9.8 MWdc. The following quarter, Greenbacker acquired the other pre-operational solar projects—Richmond Hill (2.5 MWdc) and Lebanon Road (2.8 MWdc)—that combine with Athens Ridge and Mars Hill to round out ReneSola’s 2022 Maine portfolio.
All four projects in that Maine pipeline are grandfathered into the state’s net energy billing program, which was capped in the second quarter of 2021. The program was designed to encourage small-scale renewable power by allowing consumers to offset their power bills by the net amount of energy they generate with their own (or community) clean energy systems. As the state’s website describes, it is “as if the meter runs backwards whenever the customer’s facility is generating more than the customer is consuming.”1
“We’re proud that these projects will contribute to cheaper renewable energy for Mainers,” said Charles Wheeler, CEO of GREC. “Our partnership with ReneSola—and their wide-ranging renewables expertise—continues to help the Pine Tree State progress toward its admirable clean power generation goals, and we look forward to collaborating on projects with them in the future.”
Athens Ridge and Mars Hill are being sold at the notice to proceed stage, with Greenbacker completing the construction and retaining long-term ownership. Construction is expected to begin on the projects in the first quarter of 2022, with both assets slated to reach commercial operation in the third quarter of that year.
“ReneSola Power is committed to accelerating solar development in the US, and we are thrilled to see these projects contribute to Greenbacker’s renewable energy portfolio and the clean energy goals of Maine,” said John Ewen, President of ReneSola Power Holdings (North America).
Including the acquisition of these projects, Greenbacker’s fleet of sustainable infrastructure projects comprises approximately 2.2 GW of generating capacity (including assets that are to be constructed), across solar, wind, battery storage, and biomass facilities. Since 2016, Greenbacker’s real assets have generated 3.0 million megawatt-hours2 of clean energy, abating 2.1 million metric tons of carbon.3 Today these projects support 2,700 green jobs.4
1 https://www.maine.gov/mpuc/legislative/documents/Net%20Energy%20Billing.pdf
2 Data is as of June 30, 2021.
3 Carbon abatement is calculated using the EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator which uses the AVoided Emissions and geneRation Tool (AVERT) US national weighted average CO2 marginal emission rate to convert reductions of kilowatt-hours into avoided units of carbon dioxide emissions. Data is as of June 30, 2021.
4 Green jobs are calculated from the International Renewable Energy Agency‘s measurement that one megawatt of renewable power supports 3.8 jobs. Data is as of June 30, 2021.
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