Lake Herman Solar in Benicia, CA provides clean power to 2,000 homes annually with 52% local labor hours during project construction
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 13, 2021
MCE Press Contact:
Jenna Tenney, Marketing & Communications Manager
(925) 378-6747 | communications@mceCleanEnergy.org
SAN RAFAEL and CONCORD, Calif. — The 5-megawatt Lake Herman Solar Project — completed with prevailing wage and 52% local labor — is now operational, serving approximately 2,000 homes a year with 100% renewable power. The project, developed in partnership with San Francisco-based Renewable Properties and owned by Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company, is the first to be completed through MCE’s Feed-In Tariff (FIT) Plus Program. The FIT Plus program offers project developers incentivized rates for renewable energy development in MCE’s service area. All projects completed through this program are subject to prevailing wage, 50% local hire, and pollinator-friendly solar requirements.
“The Lake Herman Solar Project represents a strong partnership between Renewable Properties, local labor, the City of Benicia, and MCE,” said Aaron Halimi, President of Renewable Properties. “This partnership resulted in a unique project that created a win-win for the environment and for the local economy. We are proud to be a part of the clean energy revolution.”
The Lake Herman Solar Project has almost doubled the amount of solar energy produced in Benicia from 7.8 megawatts to 12.8 megawatts and began providing electricity for businesses and residents in fall of 2021. While 67% of the labor hours were from residents in MCE’s 4-county service area, 52% were from Solano County, providing family-sustaining jobs and boosting the clean energy economy. Over 99% of the labor hours were provided through union partners. The project will also include pollinator-friendly ground cover to support healthy, local ecosystems.
“MCE’s Feed-in Tariff Program creates a unique opportunity to provide clean, local power to our customers,” says Dawn Weisz, CEO of MCE. “The Benicia project reduces the need for polluting fossil fuel plants, while offering high-value jobs to local workers. Lake Herman Solar showcases MCE’s commitment to energy equity through community partnership.”
The 35-acre Lake Herman Solar Project is MCE’s second renewable energy project in Solano County. This project will eliminate over 9,500 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to removing over 2,000 cars from the road for a year.
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About MCE: As California’s first Community Choice Aggregation Program, MCE is a groundbreaking, not-for-profit, public agency that has been setting the standard for energy innovation in our communities since 2010. MCE offers cleaner power at stable rates, significantly reducing energy-related greenhouse emissions and enabling millions of dollars of reinvestment in local energy programs. MCE is a load-serving entity supporting a 1,200 MW peak load. MCE provides electricity service and innovative programs to more than 540,000 customer accounts and more than one million residents and businesses in 36 member communities across four Bay Area counties: Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, and Solano. For more information about MCE, visit mceCleanEnergy.org, or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.
About Renewable Properties: Founded in 2017, Renewable Properties specializes in developing and investing in small-scale utility and community solar energy projects throughout the U.S. Led by experienced renewable energy professionals with development and investment experience, Renewable Properties works closely with communities, developers, landowners, utilities and financial institutions looking to invest in large solar energy systems. For more information about Renewable Properties, visit www.renewprop.com.
About Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company: Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC is a publicly reporting, non-traded limited liability sustainable infrastructure company that acquires and manages income-producing renewable energy and other energy-related businesses, including solar and wind farms. We seek to invest in high-quality projects that sell clean power under long-term contract to high-creditworthy counterparties such as utilities, municipalities, and corporations. We are long-term owner-operators, who strive to be good stewards of the land and responsible members of the communities in which we operate. We believe our focus on power production and income generation creates value that we can then pass on to our shareholders—while facilitating the transition toward a clean energy future. For more information, please visit https://greenbackercapital.com.
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