• November 29, 2024

Ipsun Solar has announced a partnership with Versiris Energy to install 1.58 megawatts of rooftop solar energy on storage units across Virginia. This cooperation is in line with the commitment of both companies to increase access to clean energy and promote sustainable development. The first completed installation project of this collaboration is located at a factory in Fairfax, Virginia, marking the beginning of at least a dozen project portfolios. As we continue to expand our supply of commercial and industrial solar projects nationwide, our partnership with Ipsun Solar has been an important part of Virginia's efforts. Their familiarity with the Virginia market, coupled with savvy engineering skills and grounded teams, has proven crucial to our joint success, "said Rocky Shoemaker, Vice President of Engineering and Construction at Versiris Energy. Given its strategic location and ample rooftop space, storage facilities are the perfect choice for rooftop solar installations. Ipsun Solar is honored to support Virginia's ambitious goal of achieving 100% clean energy by 2050 and is pleased to continue this influential collaboration. The next project in this growing investment portfolio will take place in Chantilly, Virginia.

• November 28, 2024

Entergy Louisiana and DE Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI) have started commercial operations at Sunlight Road Solar in the Washington Diocese of Louisiana. The 50 megawatt solar power facility located in Franklin will be developed and constructed by DESRI and will supply power to Entergy Louisiana's grid through a 20-year power purchase agreement. Sunlight Road Solar has over 100000 photovoltaic panels that will generate enough electricity to power approximately 11500 households, helping to meet Louisiana's growing demand for renewable energy. Phillip May, President and CEO of Entergy Louisiana, said, "With the addition of Sunlight Road Solar, we are taking another step towards a cleaner and more sustainable energy future for our state." "This milestone is not just about adding solar energy to our product portfolio; it's about providing our customers with affordable, reliable, and clean energy. We are excited about what this means for the future of Louisiana's electricity as we continue to meet the growing demand for renewable energy and strive for a net zero emissions future Entergy Louisiana's customers expect to save approximately $22 million during the term of the Sunlight Road Solar power purchase agreement. The facility uses a Nevada single axis tracker to keep the solar panels following the sun throughout the day, maximizing energy production. DESRI is pleased to collaborate with Entergy to develop and build another renewable energy project to support its customers, "said Hy Martin, Chief Development Officer of DESRI." We are grateful to Sunlight Road Solar's numerous stakeholders, including Washington Parish, Entergy, our landowners, project lenders, Nevados, and Primoris Renewable Energy, and look forward to continuing to invest in clean, cost competitive energy to create opportunities for Louisiana and the wider Gulf region The company plans to put nearly 50 megawatts of Stirling solar facilities into operation at some point in 2026. The solar facility will be owned and operated by Entergy Louisiana, located next to the Stirling Power Station, which is one of the company's oldest power plants in northern Louisiana. These milestones are in line with Entergy's commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

• November 26, 2024

Earlier this year, Nexamp opened its second national headquarters in Chicago, attended by Governor JB Pritzker and Congressman Danny K. Davis (Democrat of Illinois). As part of this announcement, Nexamp has committed to hiring an additional 50 team members and investing over $2 billion in the state through its existing projects and strong development channels. Now, Nexamp has been designated by the US Department of Labor as a Registered Apprentice Program (RAP) employer in Illinois. This appointment was announced during last week's National Apprenticeship Week. It is the result of the company's extensive workforce development program, including the successful implementation of STEM based scholarship programs with the City College of Chicago and the Solar Sunrise program, which provides participants with full-time career opportunities through one-year rotation experience across multiple Nexamp businesses. Marion Jones, Vice President of Workforce Development and DEIJ Engagement at Nexamp, said, "Since we first announced the establishment of our second headquarters in Chicago in February this year, our focus has been on expanding employment opportunities for underrepresented communities in the Chicago area. Successful energy transformation requires skilled and knowledgeable labor, and all communities must have access to these opportunities. By offering apprenticeships and working closely with educational institutions in the region, we are expanding the urgently needed clean energy workforce today The U.S. Department of Labor is responsible for managing the Registered Apprenticeship Program, which helps ensure a strong and fair economic recovery after the epidemic by enabling all Americans to get good jobs in priority industries and among people who are particularly affected by the epidemic. Registering an apprenticeship program enables employers to develop and train their future workforce, while providing affordable pathways for job seekers to secure safe, high-quality, and high paying jobs. In Illinois, we are cultivating the future workforce through world-class education and apprenticeship opportunities, "said Governor JB Pritzker. I am grateful to Nexamp's partners for their continued investment in the success of Illinois, including the opening of a second Chicago headquarters and the new U.S. Department of Labor apprenticeship program. This program will undoubtedly ensure that the next generation is adequately prepared for skilled labor while creating more high paying jobs and fair opportunities

• November 25, 2024

On November 18th, a group of elected officials from both parties in California celebrated the launch of the first community solar project in the Central Valley with Dimension Energy. Joe Henri from Dimension Energy, along with Senator Anna Caballero, Congressman Devon Mathis, Raja Ramesh from the California Energy Commission, and community organizer Melynda Metheney, gathered in front of a solar array just 10 minutes away from downtown Visalia to promote the many benefits of community solar energy. Valley residents. Dimension Energy is proud to bring affordable energy solutions to the residents of the Central Valley, "said Joe Henri of Dimension Energy. We hope this is just the beginning. We envision establishing a truly effective community solar and storage project throughout California that will enable more farmers and landowners to host these facilities, protect agricultural land within their homes, while creating employment opportunities and generating clean energy locally The Visalia project is one of three new community solar pilot programs developed by Dimension Energy in the Central Valley, and is also part of the state's Vulnerable Community Green Tariff (DAC-GT) program. The other two projects of the pilot program are located in Cocoon and Lemore. These three projects will provide clean solar power to over 3700 low-income valley residents at a 20% discount, saving an average of $40 per month for households. Dimension strives to ensure the localization of benefits for each project, collaborating with trusted community organizations such as Proteus and Self Help Enterprises to provide affordable clean energy to residents in greatest need, and sponsoring workforce development programs to ensure high-quality work for every project. According to the latest census data, 50% of the population in Tuleri County does not speak English: a significant portion of registered residents speak Spanish, and all of Dimension's community partners also speak Spanish. The DAC-GT program ended earlier this year, making these pilot community solar projects the first and last of their kind. Ideally, these projects would become a model for CPUC as it considers how to deploy the $250 million Solar For All funding allocated by the Environmental Protection Agency this spring. Federal funding provides an opportunity to launch and expand community solar energy programs across the state. The event speaker emphasized that if PUC deploys most of the federal funds this fall to expand community solar across the state, it will bring additional benefits to households in the Central Valley.

• November 22, 2024

GameChange Solar, a solar structure manufacturer, has released TopoSmart+, a project analysis tool designed to minimize the terrain cost of installing the company's single axis solar tracker on challenging and uneven terrain. TopoSmart+runs multiple design iterations on solar project sites to determine lower cost leveling and steel column options, optimize tracker elevations, and generate leveling plans. The 3D modeling of this tool supports the straight pipe and terrain following configuration of GameChange's Genius Tracker to ensure that the tracker design is suitable for the specific conditions on site. For homeowners interested in terrain tracking systems, GameChange offers solar trackers suitable for medium and extreme terrain tracking, allowing for a maximum slope variation of 1 ° between each column span. TopoSmart+can also be designed with relatively small changes in the slope of the pipeline to increase the power output of the tracker system. Our goal at TopoSmart+is to provide powerful and streamlined solutions that reduce terrain costs while supporting project financing, "said Anthony Assal, Director of Technical Development at GameChange." By optimizing the slope and steel requirements of specific terrains, we provide developers with an efficient and cost-effective approach, even in the most challenging locations

• November 21, 2024

Castillo Engineering has been selected by Recon Corporation to provide design and engineering services for two new community solar projects in Illinois, with a total capacity of 15 MW DC. As part of the Shines or Adjustable Block Program in Illinois, these two 7.5 MW projects are located in Pontiac and Odell cities and will use single axis trackers. These projects are expected to start construction in the first quarter of 2025 and be completed in the fourth quarter of 2025. Prior to this announcement, Castillo and Recon acquired a portfolio of three projects (totaling 23 megawatts) in the first quarter of 2024. Once these latest projects are put into operation, Castillo and Recon will jointly complete projects exceeding 50 megawatts. Recon President Scott Walker said, "Castillo remains our preferred partner because of their extensive experience in the Midwest and consistent track record in completing projects on schedule and within budget." "We look forward to further leveraging their internal expertise in civil, electrical, and structural engineering to provide more effective community solar projects for Illinois residents In the past four years, community solar capacity in Illinois has tripled. In terms of community solar installed capacity, the state currently ranks among the top four states in the United States, second only to New York, Minnesota, and Massachusetts. This can be achieved through favorable legislation in the state. Illinois Shines plans to recently increase the size limit for qualified projects from 2 MW to 5 MW AC. These two new projects are the first projects in the new allowed scale completed by Castillo and Recon. Christopher Castillo, CEO of Castillo Engineering, said, "We are delighted to once again have the opportunity to collaborate with industry leaders like Recon Corporation in the Midwest. Their expertise is unparalleled in the region, and we look forward to helping them effectively execute this range of impactful community solar projects

• November 20, 2024

Xcel Energy is currently providing carbon free electricity to customers in the Midwest through one of the country's largest solar projects, marking an important milestone in the company's clean energy transition and the first of several major investments in the Sherco plant in central Minnesota. Bob Frenzel, Chairman, President, and CEO of Xcel Energy, said, "The progress we have made at Sherco Solar shows that we are not only talking about the future of clean energy, but also building it." "This is the first large-scale solar facility we own and operate, and it is an important milestone on Xcel Energy's path to achieving our carbon free vision by using innovative technology, creating employment opportunities, supporting our communities, and ensuring reliability. Our customers. I commend our employees, contractors, and partners for working together to make this transformation a reality Sherco Solar first connected to the upstream power grid in the Midwest at the end of October, providing customers in the region with over 220 megawatts of low-cost solar power. The other two connection phases will be launched in 2025 and 2026. Once completed, Sherco Solar's total installed capacity will be 710 MW, providing sufficient clean energy for 150000 households in the Midwest and Northern regions, and replacing the capacity of the first coal-fired unit retired from the nearby Sherco plant last year. Sherco Solar will provide the lowest cost solar energy for Xcel Energy's upstream systems in the Midwest. This project represents an investment of approximately 1.1 billion US dollars in clean energy infrastructure. Sherco Solar is creating 400 high paying union construction jobs, as well as 12 ongoing operations and maintenance jobs. This project provides opportunities for participants in the Xcel Energy Power Up workforce and development program, with the Public Utilities Commission and Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development playing key roles in developing the program. The labor program aims to provide opportunities for underrepresented individuals in the energy and construction industries. Sherco Solar is creating hundreds of jobs and providing a living wage for the 292 members of IBEW, who are building clean energy infrastructure to provide electricity for the state for decades to come while maintaining brightness for the people of Minnesota, "said Jeff Heimerl, the business manager of the company. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 292. Nearly 200 IBEW members have helped deliver the first phase of Sherco Solar, and we are working hard on the next phase to help the state achieve its 100% carbon free energy production goal

• November 18, 2024

The Massachusetts legislature has passed S.2967, a bill that promotes clean energy grids, promotes fairness, and protects taxpayers. The climate bill was announced under immense pressure from environmental justice and clean energy advocates following the failure of major climate reforms a few months ago. This legislation addresses the urgent climate crisis by promoting the elimination of polluting fossil fuels and simplifying the adoption of clean energy. Now, state-level legislation is more important than ever for the transition to clean energy. We commend lawmakers for passing this bill and recognizing the urgent need to address the climate crisis while prioritizing fairness in this process, "said Elena Weissmann, Northeast Director of Vote Solar. We congratulate the leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives, as well as those advocates who did not ease the pressure, for passing this bill The bill makes significant changes to the site selection and licensing of energy infrastructure, which will accelerate the Commonwealth's transition to renewable resources such as solar energy, and plans to phase out methane gas projects without endangering low - and middle-income taxpayers. In addition, the bill lays the foundation for future distributed and resilient power grids by integrating battery storage and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. We are pleased that this bill prioritizes strong cumulative impact assessments for new energy projects rooted in environmental justice principles. This assessment requires new energy projects to fully consider the historical and ongoing burdens experienced by communities that are disproportionately affected by climate change and the current energy system, "Weissman said. We look forward to working with partners to promote the transition from polluting infrastructure to renewable energy projects that can directly benefit frontline communities

• November 14, 2024

OneEnergy Renewables has signed asset purchase agreements with We Energies, Wisconsin Public Service Company (WPS), and Madison Gas and Electric Company (MGE). Through this agreement, OneEnergy will construct two utility scale solar projects with a total installed capacity of approximately 165 megawatts, both located in Columbia County, Wisconsin. These two locations are named Good Oak (98 MW) and Gristmill (67 MW), referencing and paying tribute to the natural habitat and local history of the region. In order to provide a complete solution for its partners, OneEnergy is developing and constructing projects and handing them over in commercial operations. These projects will be built by union workers and workers from across the state. The electricity generated by these power plants will help Wisconsin achieve its net zero emissions goal by 2050. At OneEnergy, we are committed to developing high-quality projects with longevity. We are fortunate to have collaborated with a group of outstanding landowners to manage these projects, and we are thrilled to build them for an equally strong community of utility partners, "said Eric Udelhofen, Vice President of Development at OneEnergy. These projects are expected to be completed in 2026 and 2027, aiming to provide long-term energy benefits to Wisconsin communities and help enhance the state's leadership in renewable energy generation.