Location of Albany County 2 in Coeymans, NY
The subsidiary of Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC has purchased two utility-scale solar projects from Hecate Energy LLC. The acquisitions of Hecate Energy Albany 1 LLC and Hecate Energy Albany 2 LLC, both 20 MW AC, expand Greenbacker's reach to New York.
Both projects are located in Albany County and have long-term contracts with investment grade offerers. Albany 1 has a contract with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, while Albany 2 will sell electricity to electric utilities Eversource and United Illuminating Company in Connecticut.
The solar systems are scheduled to begin construction in the third quarter of 2021 and go into commercial operation in summer 2022.
"We are committed to expanding access to cleaner, cheaper energy options that can more reliably meet the growing energy needs of New York, a state that has been home to greenbackers for 10 years," said Charles Wheeler, CEO of GREC. "We're excited that by working together on this solar portfolio with Hecate Energy and other future projects, we will be able to support local jobs for New Yorkers and help the state achieve its ambitious clean power goals."
"Hecate is proud to partner with Greenbacker to bring these two solar projects online and help address the growing challenges of climate change, and we look forward to many similar projects in the future," said Chris Bullinger, CEO of Hecate. "Greenbacker is a pioneer in promoting renewable energy through the smart use of capital in industry-leading projects that will make a difference, and we are very pleased with how this collaboration has developed."
With the acquisition of this portfolio, Greenbacker will have around 1.18 GW of generation capacity, of which 855.4 MW in power plants and decentralized solar systems, 300.1 MW in wind systems, 16 MW in battery storage and 12 MW in biomass systems.