BALTIMORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The National Aquarium and Constellation today announced a 25-year competitive electricity supply agreement that will help the Aquarium better manage energy costs and encourage the development of renewable power in Maryland.
As part of the agreement, Constellation will fund, construct and operate a 4.3-megawatt (DC) grid-connected solar generation project in Cambridge, Md., developed with OneEnergy Renewables. Scheduled for completion in March 2015, the system is designed to generate an estimated 5.8 million kilowatt hours during its first year of operation, more than 40 percent of the Aquarium’s annual electricity needs. The Aquarium will receive solar renewable energy credits from the solar power system for a portion of the term of its electricity supply agreement.
“This agreement with Constellation allows us to 'walk our talk’ as a conservation organization," said John Racanelli, CEO of the National Aquarium. “Now, a significant percent of our electricity will come from clean, renewable energy. We hope this will help set a precedent for supporting large-scale, off-site projects and inspire others to take action.”
Additionally, the long-term power agreement enables the Aquarium to receive a fixed price for electricity supply equal to the amount of power generated by the solar facility while retaining the ability to purchase the remainder of its electricity supply at market rate under Constellation’s flexible index program.
“Constellation is pleased to continue to support the National Aquarium’s energy and environmental goals,” said Mark Huston, president of Constellation Retail. “Our power purchase agreement with the Aquarium demonstrates our commitment to developing products and services that give customers greater flexibility in managing their energy costs while supporting the use of clean, renewable energy.”
Solar firm OneEnergy Renewables, a project developer focused on middle-market (2 to 50 MW) projects, led the pre-construction development efforts for the solar power system.
“To date, corporate and institutional customers have primarily adopted solar through on-site, net-metered systems,” said Bryce Smith, CEO and co-founder of OneEnergy Renewables. “Now, new solutions enable the development of larger, optimally-sited projects that help organizations support and enjoy the economic benefits of solar at greater scale.”
The solar power system will be comprised of approximately 14,500 photovoltaic panels, located on approximately 22 acres. The electricity generated by the system is expected to avoid the release of 4,409 tons of carbon dioxide annually, the equivalent emissions from 842 passenger vehicles according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data.
About the National Aquarium
The National Aquarium is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to inspire conservation of the world’s aquatic treasures. It champions environmental initiatives by engaging with visitors, volunteers, education groups and schools to actively participate in the preservation of the world’s natural resources and living systems. The National Aquarium delivers meaningful experiences through its living collections; science-based education programs and hands-on experiences in the field from the Chesapeake Bay to Costa Rica; and partnerships and alliances with like-minded organizations around the world. For more information on the National Aquarium, visit www.aqua.org.
About Constellation
Constellation is a leading competitive retail supplier of power, natural gas and energy products and services for homes and businesses across the continental United States. Constellation’s family of retail businesses serves more than 100,000 business and public sector customers, including more than two-thirds of the Fortune 100, and more than 1 million residential customers. Baltimore-based Constellation is a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation’s leading competitive energy provider, with 2013 revenues of approximately $24.9 billion, and more than 35,000 megawatts of owned capacity comprising one of the nation’s cleanest and lowest-cost power generation fleets. Learn more at www.constellation.com or on Twitter at @ConstellationEG.
About OneEnergy Renewables
OneEnergy Renewables develops distributed, utility-scale solar PV projects and creates next generation power purchase agreement (PPA) products that expand the marketplace for clean energy. OneEnergy’s Purpose-Built Solar™ enables commercial and institutional customers to procure power from large-scale offsite solar projects and to integrate these purchases into their broader electricity procurement strategy. More information at www.OneEnergyRenewables.com.
