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Constellation, a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation, and United Renewable Energy (URE) announced the completion of a 1-megawatt (DC) solar generation project at Owens Corning’s manufacturing facility in Fairburn, Ga. The solar installation is designed to supply approximately 1.5 million kilowatt-hours of electricity during its first year of operation to Georgia Power and supports Owens Corning’s sustainability goals.
The project is part of Georgia Power’s strategy to encourage and cultivate renewable energy sources in Georgia under a program developed in coordination with and approved by the Georgia Public Service Commission.
“Constellation is pleased to work with Georgia Power and Owens Corning in our ongoing commitment to renewable energy and sustainable business operations,” said Gary Fromer, senior vice president of distributed energy at Constellation. “As a competitive energy company, we aim to provide customers a variety of options and distributed energy solutions that achieve their goals.”
Constellation financed, built, owns and maintains the solar power system. Georgia Power purchases electricity generated by the system and all the associated renewable energy certificates under a 30-year power purchase agreement with Constellation. Through a separate agreement, Owens Corning also receives Green-e certified renewable energy certificates from Constellation for leasing space for the solar panels at the Fairburn insulation manufacturing facility.
“Owens Corning has an ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goal -- to reduce emissions by 50 percent from our 2010 baseline by 2020,” said Frank O’Brien-Bernini, vice president and chief sustainability officer at Owens Corning. “Renewable energy is already playing an important role in reducing emissions, and we’re constantly seeking creative solutions, like this one, to achieve our sustainability goals.”
Constellation and URE developed the project in response to a 2015 competitive bid developed by Owens Corning. It is Constellation’s third solar generation project located at an Owens Corning facility, representing more than 6 megawatts of capacity.
"We are proud to be a part of the collaboration with Constellation and Owens Corning that made this project a success," said William Silva, CEO of United Renewable Energy LLC. “Solar energy is a proven solution to meet budget, reliability and sustainability goals.”
The solar power system is comprised of nearly 3,000 photovoltaic panels and is expected to avoid an estimated 1,054 metric tons of carbon dioxide during its first year of operation, the equivalent emissions from 223 passenger vehicles, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data.
Constellation currently owns and operates more than 400 megawatts of distributed energy projects that have been completed or are under construction for commercial and government customers throughout the United States. Constellation offers distributed energy solutions that may require no upfront capital from customers and may provide fixed power costs that are less than projected market rates.