ReNEWS Southeast Volume 2

Alabama Municipal Electric Authority Signs 100 MW Solar PPA

• On May 29, Alabama Municipal Electric Authority (“AMEA”) and Lightsource BP announced the development of a new 100-megawatt (“MW”) (AC) solar facility 15 miles outside of Montgomery (the “facility”). Lightsource BP will finance, develop, own, and operate the facility and deliver energy to AMEA under a 20-year power purchase agreement. The facility will supply clean energy to AMEA’s 11 member utilities and generate enough electricity to power more than 20,000 homes.
• The $125 million facility will be one of the largest solar projects in Alabama when it comes online in 2021, deploying over 350,000 solar panels across 800 acres. AMEA built its first solar research plant in 2016 and committed to building a 50 kilowatt solar research project in each of its member communities. AMEA has since completed eight facilities, and the remaining three are on track to come online by year-end.

Duke Energy Florida to Develop 22 MW of Battery Storage with Three New Facilities

• Duke Energy Florida announced plans to build three lithium battery storage facilities totaling 22 MW in order to improve overall reliability and support critical services during power outages. The project will consist of the 11 MW Trenton facility outside of Gainesville, the 5.5 MW Cape San Blas facility near Panama City, and the 5.5 MW Jennings facility located 1.5 miles south of the Florida-Georgia border in Hamilton County.
• The project is part of the company’s $1 billion investment in renewable energy and energy storage, under which the utility plans to acquire a total of 700 MW of solar power facilities and 50 MW of battery storage. Duke Energy Florida plans to complete the three facilities by the end of 2020.

Construction on Tennessee’s Largest Landfill Solar Plant Completed

• Recently, C2 Energy Capital LLC completed construction on a 2.7 MW solar power generation plant installed on a capped landfill. C2 Energy Capital provided financing for the project, and the power produced will be sold to the Tennessee Valley Authority.
• The landfill is located outside Somerville, Tennessee, and the project is the largest solar power facility to be built on a landfill in the state.
• The project was constructed in accordance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s RE-Powering America’s Land Initiative, which is intended to foster the reuse of “formerly contaminated lands, landfills, and mine sites for renewable energy development.” Although construction of solar facilities on landfills can prevent challenges, the use of former landfill sites in this capacity provides otherwise underutilized properties with value.

Oceanbased Announces Plans for Ocean Current Energy Project in Gulf Stream

• OceanBased Perpetual Energy LLC has announced plans to install hundreds of megawatts of power-generating capacity off the southeast coast of Florida in the Gulf Stream. According to various articles detailing the announcement, the proposed project would be “the world’s largest commercial ocean current energy project.” The company cited studies from the U.S. Department of Energy, which claim the Gulf Stream may be able to produce as many as 45 terawatt hours per year of power generation for the state of Florida.
• OceanBased plans to work with Florida Atlantic University’s Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center to develop the project (both parties have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to that effect)