Greenbacker Buys New York Wind Farm from BlackRock Fund
Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC, a non-traded limited liability company focused on sustainable infrastructure investments, has purchased the Howard project, a 55.4 megawatt operating wind farm located in New York.
Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC, a non-traded limited liability company focused on sustainable infrastructure investments, has purchased the Howard project, a 55.4-megawatt operating wind farm located in New York, from the BlackRock Global Renewable Power Fund II.
The Howard project is Greenbacker’s first wind asset in New York and achieved commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2011, generating enough wind energy to power approximately 12,500 New York homes a year. Located in Steuben County, it also supports local clean energy jobs, including several full-time service technicians and dozens of subcontractors for ongoing maintenance and special projects, Greenbacker said.
“We’re very pleased that our successful ongoing collaboration with BlackRock has allowed us to enter a new wind market with Howard—which is not only our first wind asset in New York, but also the second largest project in our entire wind fleet,” said Charles Wheeler, chief executive officer, who noted that the firm’s largest wind asset is the 57.5-megawatt Altamont in California.
Greenbacker said that the property comes with an existing renewable energy credit contract with an offtaker and contributes to New York’s clean energy targets. Current state legislation mandates that 70 percent of power generation come from renewable energy by 2030 and calls for a zero-emissions electricity sector by 2040.
Greenbacker’s fleet of sustainable infrastructure projects comprises more than 2.6 gigawatts of generating capacity, including Howard and assets that are to be constructed.
The company said that since 2016, its real assets have produced more than 3.7 million megawatt-hours of clean energy, abating nearly 2.7 million metric tons of carbon, and supporting approximately 4,600 green jobs.
Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company seeks to invest in projects that sell clean power under long-term contract to counterparties such as utilities, municipalities, and corporations.
