By Billy Ludt | July 6, 2023
GreenSpark Solar and CVE North America have broken ground on a portfolio of five community solar projects totaling over 26 MW in upstate New York. Headquartered in New York City and a subsidiary of the France-based CVE Group, CVE is focused on the design, construction and operation of community solar systems in the United States. GreenSpark has designed, developed and built more than 200MW of renewable energy projects.
This 26MW portfolio includes three projects in Manlius, one in Wheatfield and one in Ransomville. CVE owns and will operate the projects while GreenSpark has been retained for the main design, procurement and construction work. The projects are part of CVE's broader portfolio of 13 projects currently under construction in New York State totaling 73 MW.
"This partnership with GreenSpark combines the collective solar expertise of our companies to design and build pioneering community solar projects that will provide locally produced renewable energy," said Ben Dereume, CVE CTO. "CVE is excited to partner with GreenSpark and align with our shared missions and values, both as certified B Corporations, to help expand New York's population's access to affordable clean energy."
Construction on the Wheatfield and Ransomville projects began earlier this year and the three Manlius projects began this month. As part of the New York Value of Distributed Energy Resources (VDER) program, all five projects will be community solar and receive funding from NYSERDA's NY-Sun program, which aims to make solar energy more accessible to homes, businesses and communities.
When completed, the projects will save over 4,600 low-to-moderate income residents on electricity bills and generate 37,000 MWh of clean electricity annually. In addition to providing clean energy to the communities in which they are built, the projects will also provide local employment opportunities and environmental benefits during construction and operations. CVE's Green Initiative is expected to donate $48,200 to local environmental organizations.
"With our 21-year history here in New York, we're always looking for new partners like CVE to welcome their investments into the communities of western New York," said Kevin Schulte, CEO of GreenSpark. "Our experience will help ensure these projects produce clean electricity over the long term, while ensuring that CVE is a good neighbor to the communities in which we operate."
The projects are expected to be fully operational by early 2024 and are part of New York's climate agenda.
Reference:
https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2023/07/greenspark-solar-building-new-york-community-solar-portfolio/
