Renewable America (RNA), a leading provider of local small utility-scale solar+storage and multi-customer community microgrids projects in California, today announced the achievement of mechanical completion for its project located in the Petaluma area of Marin County, CA. The deal is financed with Sunwest Bank through a sale leaseback structure, allowing RNA to maintain the project through its entire lifecycle. The solar site will become part of MCE's service area portfolio and produce an estimated 2,300 megawatt hours (MWh) per year - powering up to 300 homes and saving roughly 19,000 tons of CO2 emissions throughout the project's lifetime.
"We're thrilled to reach this milestone with one of our forty projects and are excited to further contribute to California's clean energy portfolio targets," says Ardi Arian, President & CEO of Renewable America. "This deal also marks the inception of fruitful partnerships with both Sunwest Bank and MCE, and we look forward to future opportunities to collaborate with other Community Choice Aggregators."
California is striving to secure 90% of its electricity from renewable and zero-carbon energy by 2035. RNA's commitment to the clean energy transition is demonstrated through its solar and storage projects, optimized to enhance grid resiliency. The Fallon project utilizes fixed tilt and bifacial modules with 1.45 MWdc capacity, and the Marin County community will become more energy-independent and less vulnerable to supply disruptions through this distributed solar generation. RNA has committed to sourcing a portion of its workforce from within the local community, supporting job creation and contributing to economic growth in Marin County.
RNA also obtained a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) exemption permitting the construction of the photovoltaic facility, and was one of the first developers approved for agricultural compatible land use under the Williamson Act contract in Marin County. Specifically, the site will occupy only 3.6% of the parcel's total acreage and retain the natural state of the remainder. As part of RNA's Ag Management plan, monitored sheep grazing will take place around the solar facility, and the county will evaluate the area on an ongoing basis, ensuring the land usage is environmentally beneficial across the board.
"As we're focused on transforming the energy landscape across California, we have a strong sense of guardianship for the local communities in our purview, including its citizens, workforce, and environmental landscape," says Ardi Arian.
