Greentech Lead America: The New Energy Capital Cleantech Infrastructure Fund announced the commissioning and term financing of the 5 megawatt Celina, Ohio, solar project.
The project brings competitively priced renewable electricity to the City of Celina’s municipal grid, and will produce enough power to meet up to 8 percent of the city’s total energy demand, the company said.
The project was developed by SolarVision, an Ohio-based solar project developer, owner and operator. SolarVision is also a part owner of Celina Solar Project I, along with New Energy Capital, and will be responsible for daily operations.
“The SolarVision project with the City of Celina reflects the convergence of falling solar generation costs, state Renewable Portfolio Standards, and the increasing comfort and experience of renewable energy capital providers,” said Adam Bernstein, managing partner of New Energy Capital. “The result is cheap, clean power for local customers.”
The Project was financed with New Market Tax Credits (NMTC), in partnership with Finance Fund of Ohio and J.P. Morgan Chase, and is one of very few solar projects to successfully procure NMTC investment.
Finance Fund, a community development financial intermediary, provided $17.7MM in federal and $2.6MM in state New Markets Tax Credits to help build the 5 Megawatt Solar Array System to interconnect with Celina’s power company.
The system created 108 construction jobs and supplies enough clean solar energy to power 500 homes, said James R. Klein, CEO of Finance Fund. The project is significant because it delivers affordable energy and cost savings in an area with a 15 percent poverty rate.
Hanwha Q.CELLS supplied panels and construction financing for the project, acted as EPC contractor, and will be responsible for the project’s maintenance and warranty administration.
New Energy Capital partnered on the investment with the CleanTech Alliance Fund, managed by North Sky Capital, of Minneapolis, MN. North Sky Capital provided $6.6 million of direct and indirect capital to the project via its CleanTech Alliance Fund.