Greenbacker Renewable Energy, a leading owner, and operator of sustainable infrastructure and energy efficiency projects announced this Wednesday it entered the Washington market, after the acquisition of a pre-operational solar energy portfolio.
Firstly, through a wholly-owned subsidiary, Greenbacker acquired from TUUSSO Energy a 20MWdc portfolio of solar projects. The portfolio has three projects with 6.7MW of capacity. This acquisition represents Greenbacker’s first assets in Washington, a state with ambitious clean energy targets and strong support for renewables.
Moreover, the projects are Camas, Penstemon, and Urtica; they are all located in Kittitas County and might reach commercial operations around 2022. Up to this point, each of the projects has long-term power purchase agreements in place with the same investment-grade utility offtaker.
In addition, when the projects reach commercial operations, the renewable energy output will contribute to the state’s goal of achieving carbon-neutral electricity production by 2030 and 100% clean power by 2045.
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Greenbacker to push Washington’s energy transition
Charles Wheeler, CEO of Greenbacker Renewable, said about the matter. “This expansion is the result of a successful long-term collaboration with the solar development experts at TUUSSO. We’ve been involved with the portfolio since the planning stage, and today we’re very pleased to include it in our fleet of renewables projects driving a clean energy future in the state of Washington.”
On the other hand, the portfolio will help Washington meet its clean energy goals. However, the state has also its appeal for clean energy development. In fact, the state has a number of supportive solar policies. These include several tax exemptions for qualifying solar energy equipment and a net metering incentive. This allows solar owners to feed any unused energy back into the grid, offsetting their power bills by an equal amount.
Owen Hurd, CEO of TUUSSO commented on the transaction. “These projects would not have been possible without Greenbacker’s unwavering commitment; and the collaborative efforts of local landowners, the Washington Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council; Puget Sound Energy, the Governor’s Office, and other individuals.”
Finally, Greenbacker’s fleet of sustainable infrastructure projects comprises over 2.6 GW of generating capacity; including the TUUSSO portfolio and assets that are to be constructed.
