Greenbacker Buys Pair of Community Solar Projects in Maine
Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC, a publicly registered, non-traded limited liability company, has purchased a to-be-constructed solar portfolio in Maine.
Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC, a publicly registered, non-traded limited liability company, has purchased a to-be-constructed solar portfolio in Maine from ReneSola Power Holdings for an undisclosed price.
The portfolio’s two projects include Athens Ridge (3.8 megawatts) and Mars Hill (2.8 megawatts), which are being sold at the notice to proceed stage, with Greenbacker completing the construction and retaining long-term ownership. Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2022, with both assets slated to reach commercial operation in the third quarter of that year.
During the first quarter of 2021, Greenbacker purchased a pair of ReneSola’s Utah solar assets, totaling 9.8 megawatts. The following quarter, it acquired the other pre-operational solar projects – Richmond Hill (2.5 megawatts) and Lebanon Road (2.8 megawatts)— 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.
“We’re proud that these projects will contribute to cheaper renewable energy for Mainers,” said Charles Wheeler, chief executive officer. “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…”
Including the acquisition of these projects, Greenbacker’s fleet of sustainable infrastructure projects total approximately 2.2 gigawatts of generating capacity, including assets that are to be constructed, across solar, wind, battery storage, and biomass facilities.
Greenbacker said that since 2016, its real assets have generated 3.0 million megawatt-hours of clean energy, abating 2.1 million metric tons of carbon, while supporting 2,700 green jobs.
In other company news, Greenbacker recently purchased a pre-operational 11.3-megawatt solar project located on four separate sites across Minnesota, as reported by The DI Wire.
Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company purchases and manages renewable energy and other energy-related businesses, including solar and wind farms. It invests in projects that sell clean power under long-term contract to counterparties such as utilities, municipalities, and corporations.
