Clean energy marketplace Ever.green has completed the 5-MW Baron solar project in Anson County, North Carolina. The project was developed and will be owned and operated by Headwater Energy.
A group of Microsoft suppliers, including Slalom Consulting, Centific Technologies, ImagiCorps, BDA, Eleven 11 Solutions, TASA Analytics and Visionet Systems signed long-term contracts for renewable energy certificates (RECs) to support the new solar project in reaching financial close, delivering on Microsoft’s carbon-free electricity expectations. Microsoft’s Supplier Code of Conduct expects select large-scale Microsoft suppliers to transition to 100% carbon-free electricity for goods and services provided to Microsoft by 2030.
“Through our Supplier Code of Conduct sustainability expectations, Microsoft aims to enable large and small suppliers to take action to reduce their carbon emissions,” said Edmond Chan, Group Sustainability Manager at Microsoft.
Projects like Baron are often difficult to bring to market. Many small- and mid-sized solar projects face a common structural challenge. While the economics may work on paper, lenders typically require significant contracted revenue before financing construction. Without committed buyers, otherwise viable projects can stall before reaching financial close. Together, the participating Microsoft suppliers committed to a volume of renewable energy credits that collectively was sufficient to help move this new project forward.
Unlike annually-procured, spot-market RECs (which are typically purchased from existing projects), Ever.green’s high-impact RECs are designed to provide the revenue certainty developers need to secure financing for new projects, enabling buyers to play a direct role in bringing additional carbon-free electricity online.
“Ever.green was designed specifically to make this kind of collective action possible. We’re one of the few organizations that empowers companies of all sizes to advance their carbon-free electricity goals by acquiring High-Impact RECs that have real impact at the community level,” said Liz Pearce, Chief Revenue Officer at Ever.green. “Slalom and the other Microsoft suppliers are ideal examples of corporate buyers that are driving real community impact because it’s in their own interest, as well as the interest of their clients, employees, partners and other stakeholders.”
“We’re a consulting partner to thousands of clients, and we are deeply embedded in their supply chains, so we realize our environmental footprint extends well beyond our Slalom office doors,” said John Poling, Managing Director, Client Leadership, Carolinas at Slalom. “What that means is our choices impact their choices. Because of that, we’re committed to 100% renewable energy by 2030, and this solar project in North Carolina is a big part of that commitment.”
“Baron Solar is a great example of how innovative contracting structures can unlock projects that might not otherwise move forward,” said Myles Watson, COO at Headwater Energy. “By working with Ever.green and this group of committed buyers, we were able to secure the revenue certainty needed to bring this project to life.”
Baron Solar is now generating clean energy in Anson County, a rural, low-income community 45 miles southeast of Charlotte. The project represents a meaningful long-term investment in the county, generating new property tax revenue that supports schools, emergency services, and other essential public functions. The electricity produced by Baron Solar is delivered into the regional cooperative system that serves Pee Dee Electric, helping meet the energy needs of the broader community in which the project is located.
News item from Ever.green
