Ohio village of Grafton signs a PPA with Safari Energy for this 5.7 MW solar project

Photo courtesy: Eirti Foundry

The politicians and utilities in the state of Ohio don’t seem to like solar power, but the Village of Grafton, Ohio, does, having completed a 5.76 MWdc (4 MWac) solar power project last month. This will supply the municipal power system through a 30-year power purchase agreement with Safari Energy, a leading solar partner headquartered in New York. The project was developed, designed and built by Florida-based Eitri Foundry.

The project was inaugurated at a ribbon-cutting event in Grafton, approximately 30 miles southwest of Cleveland. The ground-mounted system covering 35 acres is expected to generate more than 280 million kilowatt hours of electricity in its lifetime, offsetting an estimated equivalent of nearly 200,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions or charging more than 25 billion smartphones.

“We are incredibly proud to lead The Village of Grafton into the sustainable future by implementing a clean, green and renewable source of electricity,” said Joe Price, Village Administrator of Grafton. “Project Beacon, as we’ve named it, will provide the Village with a renewable energy source and fixed-purchase price on energy, locking in energy savings for the foreseeable future,” he added.

Check out all of the 2019 Project of the Year winners here right here.

Safari Energy owns the Grafton solar project, building on the company’s recently launched competitive and flexible financial offering for solar projects. Safari Energy partners with solar developers to provide funding for solar assets from early stage development through Commercial Operation Date (COD). Since the start of 2019, Safari Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of PPL Corporation, has contracted more than 50 solar project acquisitions across the country.

— Solar Builder magazine

[source: https://solarbuildermag.com/news/ohio-village-of-grafton-signs-a-ppa-with-safari-energy-for-this-5-7-mw-solar-project/]