Canadian Solar, a vertically integrated manufacturer of silicon ingots, wafers, and PV cells and modules, announced its wholly-owned subsidiary, Recurrent Energy, has completed a purchase and sale agreement with Appalachian Power for Recurrent’s Firefly Energy solar project located in Pittsylvania County, Virginia.
With a capacity of 150 MW, the project will be Appalachian Power’s largest solar energy acquisition to date. It will help the utility meet its clean energy requirements under the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA).
The Firefly Energy solar project will be developed and constructed by Recurrent under a Build Transfer Agreement (BTA). Pending local and state permits and other regulatory approvals, the project’s construction is expected to start in early 2023 and reach commercial operation in 2024. Once construction is completed, Appalachian Power, which serves customers in Virginia, West Virginia, and Tennessee, will be the long-term owner of the project.
Recurrent received approval on its Siting Agreement for the project earlier in December 2021 from the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors. The agreement provides $2.25 million in upfront payments to Pittsylvania County in addition to long-term revenue for public services over the life of the project.
“The Firefly project in Virginia expands our growing footprint across the eastern U.S., delivering turnkey projects for utilities and other investors,” said Dr. Shawn Qu, chairman, and CEO of Canadian Solar. “We are pleased to have been selected through a competitive process and to be a part of Appalachian Power’s major solar energy expansion. We look forward to advancing this project through development and construction and delivering a renewable solar energy project to Appalachian Power that will help them serve their Virginia customers,” he added.
According to Mercom’s recently published annual and Q4 solar funding and m&a report, over 68 GW of large-scale solar projects were acquired in 2021.
