Cypress Creek Renewables Launches Portfolio of Battery Projects
Cypress Creek Renewables, the nation’s fastest-growing solar farm developer, announces its collaboration with United Renewable Energy to co-develop a series of 12 solar-plus-storage projects with Brunswick Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) in North Carolina. The 12 projects have a combined storage capacity of 12 MWhs, making them one of the largest solar-plus-storage portfolios in the country. The projects are set to commence construction this month and are expected to be on line by October 2017.
United Renewable Energy LLC developed the unique project structure and power purchase agreements with Brunswick EMC, allowing the cooperative utility in Southeastern North Carolina to benefit from the energy storage capacity in the batteries while purchasing solar energy at avoided cost.
Cypress Creek Renewables acquired the projects and provided late stage project development, financing and construction. Cypress Creek Renewables and United Renewable Energy are at the forefront of the solar-plus-storage space. The solar portion of the system will charge the batteries during off-peak periods. Once the batteries are charged each day, the solar portion of the projects will continue to deliver energy to the grid. During Brunswick EMC’s peak load times in the summer and winter, the projects will provide reliable solar energy using the solar panels and/or the batteries and will reduce the utility’s peak power requirements.
“These projects provide low-cost solar energy to our members, and compound the value by delivering it exactly when we need it,” said Don Hughes, CEO of Brunswick EMC. “This partnership will provide significant value to our members for years to come.”
“Energy storage is a key component for solar. We see energy storage as inevitable. It makes solar 24/7 and permits us to be better partners to everyone in the energy food chain,” said Cypress Creek Chairman Ben Van de Bunt. “Cypress Creek Renewables began building out our storage team in 2016. These efforts are aligned with our goal to create a generation profile that more accurately matches the needs of our utility partners and retail customers. Energy storage allows Cypress Creek Renewables to provide ancillary services to utilities to help them with reliability concerns and to allow them to defer investment in certain types of grid updates.”
“We are proud to collaborate with Brunswick EMC to bring innovation in solar-plus-storage to its members,” said William Silva, CEO of United Renewable Energy LLC. “We are very grateful to partner again with Cypress Creek Renewables, whose outstanding team will bring these projects to life this year.”
As their customers evolve, Cypress Creek Renewables and United Renewable Energy look forward to offering more ways to access clean energy with either co-located solar-plus-storage projects or standalone energy storage projects. Near term, Cypress Creek Renewables intends to focus on solar-plus-storage, while leveraging its highly efficient core development, finance and utility-scale construction capabilities.
About Brunswick EMC:
Brunswick EMC is the second largest electric co-op in NC, the 35th largest of nearly 900 co-ops in the U.S. and serves more than 91,000 locations in Brunswick and Columbus counties, plus small areas of Bladen and Robeson counties. Locally owned, the not-for-profit corporation is committed to providing safe, reliable and affordable electricity to its members. Established in 1939, the co-op has a longstanding tradition of working to improve the quality of life in the communities it serves. For more information about Brunswick EMC, visit http://www.bemc.org.
About Cypress Creek Renewables LLC:
Cypress Creek Renewables partners with local communities to provide widespread access to affordable, clean energy. With over 5 gigawatts of solar deployed or in development, Cypress Creek Renewables is one of the largest and fastest-growing dedicated providers of local solar farms. For more information about Cypress Creek Renewables, visit http://www.ccrenew.com.
About United Renewable Energy LLC:
United Renewable Energy LLC, is a highly experienced development and construction firm specializing in industrial and utility solar photovoltaics and energy storage systems. URE is a licensed multi-state general and electrical contractor operating throughout the Southeastern U.S. and New York State. URE’s focus on key utility and independent power producer (IPP) partners allows it to deliver solar projects with utility-level quality, performance and safety at the lowest possible cost in the Eastern United States. For more information about United Renewable Energy, visit http://www.u-renew.com.
Source: prweb
