Today, Kentuck Solar Project stakeholders, led by WGL Energy Systems (WGL Energy), a WGL company, and Sol Systems, a Washington, D.C.-based solar development and finance company, joined to celebrate the completion of a 6-megawatt (MW) alternating current system located on 76-acres at 2048 Kentuck Church Road in Ringgold, Virginia.
Launched in May 2017 when the City of Danville hosted then-Governor Terry McAuliffe at a roundtable discussion on his Clean Energy Jobs tour, the project created approximately 80 jobs during construction, boosted the local economy and provided long-term, integrated resource planning for the City of Danville. The Kentuck Solar Project will provide enough carbon-free electricity to power 1,200 homes every year, supply 1.5 percent of the City’s power needs and establish long-term cost certainty for the utility.
WGL Energy serves as owner and operator of the project and Sol Systems has overseen the design, construction and financing of the system. The City of Danville Department of Utilities is purchasing the energy from the fully installed photovoltaic (PV) solar facility for the next twenty-five years to diversify to its energy and capacity portfolio.
“WGL Energy is pleased to usher in more renewable energy sources in the great Commonwealth of Virginia and we are excited to celebrate our first solar project in Virginia developed with a committed and talented project team,” said Sanjiv Mahan, President, WGL Energy. “We applaud the collaborative work and leadership from a distinguished group, and are proud to support Danville’s dedication to embrace the benefits of sustainable energy, including stabilized prices. We look forward to more opportunities to deliver diverse energy solutions in the state.”
“This $10 million clean energy investment also spurred greater demand for local goods and services during the construction,” said George Ashton, President of Sol Systems. “We stand ready to work closely with other exceptional communities like Danville to bring many more utility-scale solar projects to Virginia.”
The site location stretches between Dan River Middle School, Kentuck Elementary, and Dan River High School, and connects to several sections of private property. The system has nearly 24,000 crystalline modules, and a recently planted vegetative buffer around the fence to preserve aesthetics.
“The City of Danville is thrilled to showcase an innovative project that reflects our commitment to creatively deliver long-term energy capacity to serve the community,” said Jason Grey, director of Danville Utilities. “Working together with an impressive group of project partners allowed us to make the project a reality and celebrate the system’s successful completion today.”
“After just over two years of signing the PPA for this project, we are pleased to finally see this solar project come to fruition. We made commitments to Danville Utilities, Pittsylvania County, Pittsylvania County Schools and our surrounding neighbors when we started this process and now we actualized a leadership solar project thanks to the efforts of our collective project partners,” said Jared Schoch, president at TurningPoint Energy.
Summary of the project partners include:
- Danville Utilities, the largest municipal electric utility in Virginia, is purchasing all the energy from the solar farm for the next twenty-five years.
- WGL Energy, based in Tysons, Virginia, with more than 250 MW of distributed generation projects installed or under contract across twenty-one states and the District of Columbia, retains the solar renewable energy certificates, and owns and operates the system.
- Sol Systems, based in Washington, DC with over 700MW of solar delivered since 2008, served as the owner’s representative and development partner and maintained oversight over the design and construction.
- McCarthy Building Companies, the engineering, procurement, and construction firm, built the system.
- TurningPoint Energy, the developer, owns the 76-acre parcel of land that hosts the single-axis tracker array.
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ABOUT WGL
WGL Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: WGL), headquartered in Washington, D.C., is a leading source for clean, efficient and diverse energy solutions. With activities and assets across the U.S., WGL consists of Washington Gas, WGL Energy, WGL Midstream and Hampshire Gas. WGL provides natural gas, electricity, green power and energy services, including generation, storage, transportation, distribution, supply and efficiency. Our calling as a company is to make energy surprisingly easy for our employees, our community and all our customers. Whether you are a homeowner or renter, small business or multinational corporation, state and local or federal agency, WGL is here to provide Energy Answers. Ask Us. For more information, visit us at www.wgl.com.
ABOUT WGL Energy
WGL Energy delivers a full spectrum of energy offerings, including electricity, natural gas, renewable energy, carbon reduction, distributed generation and energy efficiency solutions provided by WGL Energy Services, Inc. and WGL Energy Systems, Inc. To learn more, visit us at www.wglenergy.com. Follow us at @wglenergy on Twitter and WGL Energy on LinkedIn.
ABOUT DANVILLE UTILITIES
Danville Utilities provides natural gas, water, wastewater and telecommunications services in Danville and distributes electricity to approximately 42,000 customer locations in a 500-square-mile service territory covering Danville, the southern third of Pittsylvania County and small portions of Henry and Halifax counties.
ABOUT SOL SYSTEMS
Sol Systems is one of the preeminent solar finance and development firms in the United States, with an established reputation for integrity and reliability. The company delivers sophisticated, customized services for our institutional, corporate, and municipal partners. Sol is employee-owned, and also backed by Sempra Energy, a $25+ billion energy company.
Over the last nine years, Sol Systems has delivered more than 700 MW of solar projects for Fortune 100 companies, municipalities, universities, churches, and small businesses. Sol now manages over $650 million in solar energy assets for utilities, banks, and Fortune 500 companies. Inc. 5000 recognized Sol Systems in its annual list of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies for four consecutive years. For more information, please visit www.solsystems.com.