MN8 Energy on Dec. 17 announced it will own and operate the 135MWac Prairie Solar project in Champaign County, Illinois, which includes 50MWac of capacity dedicated to a City of Cambridge, Mass., virtual power purchase agreement. The project will support the largest virtual PPA ever undertaken by a U.S. city, according to MN8 Energy.
The City of Cambridge's dedicated 50MWac portion will generate approximately 113,000 MWh of clean energy annually. Boston-based Sustainability Roundtable, Inc. facilitated the City of Cambridge's transaction through their Net Zero Consortium for Buyers, a buyers’ community for utility-scale clean energy.
MN8 Energy "is proud to own and operate this innovative project, providing a pathway for a distinguished U.S. city like Cambridge, MA, to take meaningful action on climate change, underscoring our commitment to providing decarbonization solutions for enterprise customers," said Jon Yoder, President and CEO of MN8 Energy. "By strategically locating this project in one of the nation's most carbon-intensive grids, we're maximizing both the environmental and community benefits of renewable energy deployment."
"The project's location on the MISO grid, where only 32% of energy comes from low-carbon sources, means it will deliver approximately 2.6 times the emissions reductions compared to equivalent solar generation in Massachusetts," MN8 Energy said.
Construction of the Prairie Solar project is expected to achieve commercial operation before 2026.
