(Sept. 6, 2017) Today, Kentuck Solar Project stakeholders announced that WGL Energy Systems (WGL Energy), a WGL company, has taken ownership of the project of the 6-megawatt alternating current system sited at 2048 Kentuck Church Road in Ringgold, Virginia. The previous owner, Sol Systems, will now oversee the delivery of the system as the owner’s representative. Additionally, WGL Energy and McCarthy Building Companies entered into a construction agreement clearing the way for development to begin.
“WGL Energy is proud to bring additional solar renewable energy to Virginia with our first solar project in the Commonwealth, and support an innovative solar farm that will be developed in close collaboration with Danville Utilities and talented project partners,” said Sanjiv Mahan, President, WGL Energy Systems. “We look forward to continuing our longstanding history in Virginia and contributing to Danville’s commitment to offer diverse energy solutions that stabilize prices, among other benefits.”
“We welcome WGL Energy to the team of parties moving this project forward,” said Jason Grey, director of Danville Utilities. “We expect the system to be built and in operation providing energy to our customers by spring of 2018.”
At 6MW, Kentuck will be Virginia’s largest municipal utility solar farm, twice the size of the next biggest municipal utility project in the City of Bedford. The parties responsible for the project and their roles are:
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- Danville Utilities, the largest municipal electric utility in Virginia, will purchase all the energy from the solar farm for the next 25 years.
- WGL Energy, based in Tysons, Virginia, with more than 200 MW of distributed generation projects installed or under contract across 20 states and the District of Columbia, will retain the solar renewable energy certificates, and own and operate the system.
- Sol Systems, the owner’s representative and development partner, will oversee the design and construction.
- McCarthy Building Companies, the engineering, procurement, and construction firm, will build the system.
- TurningPoint Energy, the developer, owns the 76-acre parcel of land that will host the single-axis tracker array.
In May, the City of Danville hosted Governor Terry McAuliffe at a roundtable discussion on his Clean Energy Jobs tour, where it was announced that this project would create approximately 75 clean energy jobs during construction, boost the local economy and provide long-term, integrated resource planning for the City of Danville. The Kentucky Solar Project will also offset carbon emissions equivalent to 35,338 homes over its life.
The growth of solar in Virginia spiked in 2016. To date, 238.3MW are installed in the state, with 192.4MW of that total installed just last year. Additionally, projections for 2017 estimate the state will add over 250MW this year (source: Greentech Media and the Solar Energy Industries Association). In 2016, the state added 1,273 new solar jobs, up 65 percent over 2105. Projections for 2017 estimate an increase in solar jobs of 9 percent (source: The Solar Foundation).
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ABOUT DANVILLE UTILITIES
Danville Utilities provides natural gas, water, wastewater and telecommunications services in Danville and distributes electricity to approximately 42,000 customer locations in a 500-square-mile service territory covering Danville, the southern third of Pittsylvania County and small portions of Henry and Halifax counties.
ABOUT WGL
WGL Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: WGL), headquartered in Washington, D.C., is a leading source for clean, efficient and diverse energy solutions. With activities and assets across the U.S., WGL consists of Washington Gas, WGL Energy, WGL Midstream and Hampshire Gas. WGL provides natural gas, electricity, green power and energy services, including generation, storage, transportation, distribution, supply and efficiency. Our calling as a company is to make energy surprisingly easy for our employees, our community and all our customers. Whether you are a homeowner or renter, small business or multinational corporation, state and local or federal agency, WGL is here to provide Energy Answers. Ask Us. For more information, visit us at www.wgl.com.
ABOUT WGL ENERGY
WGL Energy delivers a full spectrum of energy offerings, including electricity, natural gas, renewable energy, carbon reduction, distributed generation and energy efficiency solutions provided by WGL Energy Services, Inc. and WGL Energy Systems, Inc. To learn more, visit us at www.wglenergy.com. Follow us at @wglenergy on Twitter and WGL Energy on LinkedIn.
ABOUT SOL SYSTEMS
Sol Systems, a national solar finance and development firm, delivers sophisticated, customized services for institutional, corporate, and municipal customers. Over the last eight years, Sol Systems has delivered more than 595MW of solar projects for Fortune 100 companies, municipalities, universities, churches and small businesses. Sol now manages over $650 million in solar energy assets for utilities, banks and Fortune 500 companies. Inc. 5000 recognized Sol Systems in its annual list of the nation’s fastest- growing private companies for four consecutive years. For more information, visit www.solsystems.com.
ABOUT TURNING POINT ENERGY
TurningPoint Energy is a clean energy advisory, development and investment company headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Its principals have experience developing solar projects totaling more than $1.7 billion in value over 500MW of operating solar power plants throughout the United States within the last nine years. TurningPoint Energy is structured as a privately held, lean company with some of the lowest overhead and profit requirements in the energy industry, the ability to make decisions quickly and customize our projects to each customer’s needs. For more information about TurningPoint Energy, visit www.turningpoint-energy.com.
ABOUT MCCARTHY
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is the oldest privately held national construction company in the country – with more than 150 years spent collaborating with partners to solve complex building challenges on behalf of its clients. With an unrelenting focus on safety and a comprehensive quality program that span all phases of every project, McCarthy utilizes industry-leading design phase and construction techniques combined with value-add technology to maximize outcomes. Repeatedly honored as a top solar contractor by Solar Power World, McCarthy is also ranked the 15th largest domestic general contractor (Engineering News-Record, May 2017). McCarthy’s nationally recognized renewable energy team is based in the firm’s Phoenix office and manages solar construction on projects from coast to coast. McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned. More information about the company is available online at www.mccarthy.com or by following the company on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Google+