April 9, 2020
Leading with Light in a Time of Darkness
I am writing to you today with a message and a call for the solar industry to lead with light in this time of darkness and an appeal for our state and local leaders to leverage the solar industry as a resource for recovery.
As a solar development company working throughout the United States, TurningPoint Energy represents the tip of the spear for the solar industry in the communities we work in. As the first in the solar industry value chain to create a new project, we always invest in the communities we work in through local job growth, low cost energy generation, tax revenue generation and as importantly donating to local charities or deserving related organizations.
Today, we have accelerated $29,000 in donations to communities and charities on the front line of the COVID-19 response out of more than $160,000 in our company’s planned donations for the year attributable to solar projects that are targeted to start construction in 2020. We accelerated our donation efforts to provide immediate support to local communities in this time of crisis with plans to reach our donation target as soon as possible. The following organizations received donations this week:
- Loutit Library, West Greenwich, Rhode Island
- Comprehensive Community Action Program, Cranston, Rhode Island
- Western Maryland Food Council, Garrett County, Maryland
- Friendsville Volunteer Fire, Garrett County, Maryland
- House of Hope, Garrett County, Maryland
- Manna Food Center, Montgomery County, Maryland
- Our House, Montgomery County, Maryland
- Bowie Interfaith Pantry and Emergency Fund, Prince George’s County, Maryland
- God’s Pit Crew, Pittsylvania County, Virginia
- Community Pantry, McKinley County, New Mexico
- Hope Inc, Erath County, Texas
- La Puente, Alamosa, Colorado
To date, TurningPoint Energy and its solar project partners have invested more than $400,000 nationally in charities and related deserving programs and organizations with a goal to contribute at least $1,000,000 by 2023. We challenge others in the solar industry to step up and do the same if they can at this critical time.
To learn more about our efforts, please go to our web site: https://turningpoint-energy.com/who-we-are/community-investment/.
Solar is Essential to Economic Recovery Right Now
To our state and local leaders, solar is an essential service. We generate electricity that powers our utilities, municipalities, local businesses and local residents and saves our customer’s money on their electric bills. We urge our partners in the public sector to keep the lights on and support our ability to continue progressing projects by gaining permits to keep moving solar projects from concept to reality. We have seen counties like Montgomery, Prince George’s and Garrett in Maryland continue to process these permitting applications moving from office-based processing to virtual and online processing and meetings to lead the way in permitting. We have also seen Governor Hogan in Maryland deem electricity production, which includes solar energy production, as an essential service and the state utility commissions in Maryland and Maine have adapted quickly to working remotely to keep solar development efforts on track. We appreciate the efforts of these exemplary leaders for showing the way forward during this challenging time. We encourage all other state and local leaders to join the adaptation to keep business moving.
Keeping solar moving directly allows us to keep progressing our projects, which leads to more jobs which leads to more tax revenue which leads to more investment in your communities. If you want to keep your consultants, engineers, electricians, construction workers and everyone in between employed right now, keep solar essential. TurningPoint Energy alone is working on the following projects as of right now that can make a difference for us all.
Under construction
- 10 solar projects across four states – Rhode Island, Maryland, Virginia and Texas – creating more than 70 megawatts (MWs) of electricity, valued at more than $130 million, supporting more than 500 skilled, technical and construction jobs, creating more than $7 million in eventual local tax base over the portfolio of project’s useful life that are or planned to be in construction this year 2020.
In development, permitting, construction within a year
- 23 solar projects across six states – Maine, Rhode Island, Maryland, Arkansas, Texas and New Mexico – creating more than 120 MW that are in or are planned to be in a major permitting and development process that allows these projects to get financed and built in 2021 and 2022 valued at more than $400 million in total value, supporting more than 1,200 skilled, technical and construction jobs creating more than $25 million in eventual local tax base over the portfolio of project’s useful life.
In development, permitting, construction 2023
- 50 solar projects across nine states – Maine, Rhode Island, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico, California – creating more than 550 megawatts (MWs) of electricity, that are in some form of planning, development, permitting or construction to be financed and constructed between now and the end of 2023 valued at more than $700 million in total value, supporting an estimated 2,500 skilled, technical and construction jobs creating more than $40 million in eventual local tax base over the portfolio of project’s useful life.
If environmental value counts in your calculus as important and strategic value creation, then all of the aforementioned value is attributable to green new jobs with reductions to carbon emissions of over 1.1 billion pounds annually, which is the equivalent of over 73,000 cars off the road or 500,000 trees planted from here to 2023.
In closing, we at TurningPoint Energy are working to do everything we can to help support our local communities in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. We know our state and local leaders are stretched to their limits in this fight as well. Keeping solar as an essential service during this time of crisis with a responsible balance of following social distancing and related health guidelines with progressing solar projects will keep the lights on for our communities and be critical for economic recovery and growth.
Sincerely,
Jared Schoch
President, TurningPoint Energy