Greentech Lead America: Renewvia Energy, a provider of
solar power systems, has closed an investment fund to finance the installation
of a 200 Kilowatt (kW) solar power system in Georgia under the Tennessee Valley
Authority (TVA) Green Power Switch Partners Program.
The 10 year site lease will enable the company to install
the solar power system in Calhoun, Ga. on a multi-generational poultry farm.
After 10 years, ownership will be conveyed to the poultry
operation. The TVA will guarantee the purchase of all solar power produced
there for 10 years at $0.12 per kilowatt per hour at premium indexed to the
local retail power rate.
The fund will receive the financial benefits from this
project in the form of a federal grant, federal and state depreciation, state
tax credits and revenue from the sale of electricity. The fund participants
will be absorbing multiple forms of tax benefits to achieve the stated return
on the project.
The solar power plant’s carbon dioxide offset annually is
expected to total 89 tons and over a 25 year period will reach 527 tons. That
is the equivalent of annually planting 17 acres of pine trees. The Solar Power
System will produce over 100 percent of the poultry farm’s operational power
requirements for the life of the system.
“Last year, we developed several large commercial
solar power systems and this latest project is another example of our strong
momentum in the renewable energy market. This project also illustrates Renewvia
Energy’s ability to finance projects with multiple forms of tax benefits,”
said Eric Domescik, principal of Renewvia Energy.
Renewvia Energy worked closely with Clean Energy Capital,
a provider of investment banking and financial advisory services to companies
operating in the renewable power and clean technology, to appropriately
structure the investment.