BayWa r.e. Fern Solar project, Edgecombe County, N.C.
BayWa r.e. Solar Projects LLC will commemorate the 133.6-MW Fern Solar project in Edgecombe County, North Carolina. Fern is the largest project developed and built to date by BayWa r.e. in the U.S. Featuring more than 353,000 PV panels, it will produce an estimated 238 GWh of clean electricity annually, enough to power approximately 12,000 homes in North Carolina. The project created some 500 construction and related jobs, and will generate tens of thousands of dollars in property taxes annually for Edgecombe County over the lifetime of the plant.
Jobs training. BayWa r.e is partnering on a solar job training program with the Center for Energy Education in North Carolina. The training targets residents who are unemployed or underemployed, and needing a second chance. Graduates of the program include military veterans seeking work in the solar industry. Center for Energy Education graduates earn first consideration for hire at local solar project sites. After graduation, each student receives an OSHA 10 certification card, safety equipment, and a certificate of course completion. The company will continue to work with local communities to further develop and expand future programs.
VPP deal. The Fern project benefits from pioneering virtual power purchase agreements, including a first-of-its-kind agreement that brings together five companies separately contracting similar portions of the plant’s power generation. Facilitated by LevelTen Energy, the virtual power purchase agreement brought together an anchor tenant group comprised of Bloomberg, Cox Enterprises, Gap Inc., Salesforce and Workday to form a Corporate Renewable Energy Aggregation Group, which will purchase the output of 42.5 megawatts of the plant’s installed generating capacity. Starbucks entered into a separate virtual power purchase agreements for 46 megawatts.
The project will be added to BayWa r.e.’s operating portfolio. The company secured tax equity from RBC Capital Markets, which syndicated an investment commitment, and secured construction and permanent debt from Rabobank and Banco Sabadell.
“Fern Solar is our largest solar project built to date in the U.S., but it is more than a milestone renewable project — it’s a story about how companies and people can come together to move the needle forward,” said Jam Attari, CEO of BayWa r.e. Solar Projects. “The world is rapidly transitioning to clean energy, and we’ll get there faster when we innovate together.”
A virtual ribbon-cutting for the Fern Solar project will take place Nov. 19, with participation from partner companies, community members, and BayWa r.e. representatives. For more info and to register, click here.
— Solar Builder magazine
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