NOVATO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--EDF Renewable Energy (EDF RE), MCE, and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging celebrated today the completion of construction on the 1.11 MWp/1 MWac solar carport installation. Local representatives and company officials assembled with members of the community and staff of the Buck Institute for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to recognize this achievement.
The solar carport, located on a 4-acre upper parking lot at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, is the largest solar PV facility in Marin County. The energy generated is delivered directly to MCE’s customers, including the Buck Institute, under a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).
This carport project is part of the larger 32.6 MWp/24 MWac Cottonwood Solar contract signed between EDF Renewable Energy and MCE in 2011 and later acquired by Dominion. The Cottonwood Solar portfolio consists of three sites, two of which are ground-mount facilities located on private land in the central California counties of Kern and Kings that became operational in April 2015.
Ryan Pfaff, Executive Vice President for Development at EDF Renewable Energy, offered his comments during the ceremony stating, “Over the past decade or so, and within the past several years in particular, we have witnessed the coming of age of solar as an affordable, reliable source of energy for consumers, commercial and industrial customers, and utilities. We are proud to partner with MCE and the Buck Institute to develop solar installations that offer consumers the option to go green.”
Also participating was MCE CEO Dawn Weisz: “At MCE, our mission is to address climate change by reducing energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. We’re thrilled to be flipping the switch on the Buck solar project. It’s a perfect example of our shared community values in action – new renewables leading to more jobs and priceless environmental benefits. It’s been a great partnership between the Buck Institute, EDF RE, and Cupertino Electric.”
Brian Kennedy, PhD, Buck Institute president and CEO, commented, “We are extremely excited and grateful to be part of this project. It’s also great that the Buck gets to be part of the solution when it comes to dealing with climate change and the need to reduce energy-related greenhouse gas emissions.”
Local jobs during the six-month construction phase were created through Cupertino Electric and the local IBEW. The solar canopy further serves a dual purpose to provide protection to 252 employees’ and visitors’ vehicles to the Buck, demonstrating solar PV’s ability for efficient land use.
EDF Renewable Energy is one of the largest renewable energy developers in North America with 8 gigawatts of wind, solar, biomass, and biogas projects developed throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
About EDF Renewable Energy:
EDF Renewable Energy is a leading U.S. independent power producer with more than 25 years of expertise in the ren EDF Renewable Energy is a leading US independent power producer with more than 25 years of expertise in the renewable industry, covering all range of services from project origination, development, sales and marketing, to long-term asset management. EDF Renewable Energy specializes in wind and solar photovoltaic with presence in other segments of the renewable energy market: storage, biogas, biomass, hydro, and marine energy. EDF Renewable Energy’s North American portfolio consists of 7.8 gigawatts of developed projects with 4.1 gigawatts of installed capacity throughout the US, Canada, and Mexico. The operations and maintenance subsidiary, EDF Renewable Services, operates over 10.7 GW throughout North America. EDF Renewable Energy is a subsidiary of EDF Energies Nouvelles. EDF Energies Nouvelles is the renewable energy arm of the EDF group, the leading electricity company in the world. For more information visit: www.edf-re.com.
About MCE:
MCE is a not-for-profit, public electricity provider that gives customers the choice of having 50% to 100% of their electricity supplied from clean, renewable sources such as solar, wind, bioenergy, geothermal and hydroelectric at competitive rates. By choosing MCE, customers help support new in-state and local renewable energy generation. For more information about MCE, visit www.mceCleanEnergy.org or call 1 (888) 632-3674.
About the Buck Institute for Research on Aging
The Buck Institute is the U.S.’s first independent research organization devoted to Geroscience – focused on the connection between normal aging and chronic disease. Based in Novato, CA, The Buck is dedicated to extending “Healthspan”, the healthy years of human life and does so utilizing a unique interdisciplinary approach involving laboratories studying the mechanisms of aging and those focused on specific diseases. Buck scientists strive to discover new ways of detecting, preventing and treating age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, cancer, cardiovascular disease, macular degeneration, osteoporosis, diabetes and stroke. In their collaborative research, they are supported by the most recent developments in genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics and stem cell technologies. For more information: www.thebuck.org.
