United Renewable Energy LLC (URE) and Constellation, an Exelon Company, announced today (6/12) the completion of a 1.8-megawatt (DC) solar generation project located at Hunter Farms, a 360-acre, family-owned cattle farm in Jakin, Georgia. The Hunter family, which established its company in 1937, will benefit from lease payments from a tracking solar array situated within marginal and over-used land.
"Projects like this provide much needed income to landowners like Hunter Farms, Inc. In the farming economy, where diversification is increasingly vital, this project brings a nice cash crop to augment their top quality, animal-welfare-approved beef," said William Silva, CEO of URE. "Constellation again proved to be the landowner's and developer's best choice to finance a unique and exciting project."
"Constellation is committed to powering a cleaner and brighter future for our customers and communities," said Brendon Quinlivan, Executive Director, Distributed Energy Origination at Constellation. "As we continue to expand our solar project portfolio in the Southeast U.S. marketplace, we thank URE and Hunter Farms for the critical role they played in the successful development of our Jakin project."
The system comprised of 5,305 photovoltaic panels operate under a 30-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), with Constellation selling all energy and environmental attributes to Georgia Power. It is part of the nationally recognized Georgia Power Company Advanced Solar Initiative, which has helped to make Georgia a top 10 solar state. Constellation now owns and operates 17.8 MW of solar projects in Georgia.
"This project supports and further underscores our mission of providing sustainably, organically and ethically grown, high quality products to our customers," said Chad Hunter, third-generation member of Hunter Farms. "Investing a small amount of marginal land to provide reliable income to support our mission was a great opportunity to continue building a lasting legacy."
About Constellation
Constellation is a leading competitive retail supplier of power, natural gas and energy products and services for homes and businesses across the continental United States. Constellation's family of retail businesses serves approximately 2 million residential, public sector and business customers, including more than two-thirds of the Fortune 100. Baltimore-based Constellation is a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation's leading competitive energy provider, with 2017 revenues of approximately $33.5 billion, and more than 32,700 megawatts of owned capacity comprising one of the nation's cleanest and lowest-cost power generation fleets. Learn more at www.constellation.com or on Twitter at @ConstellationEG.
About United Renewable Energy
United Renewable Energy is an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) firm developing industrial and utility solar photovoltaic farms and energy storage systems. URE focuses on creative design and implementation to deliver solar and energy storage projects with superior quality, performance, and safety at competitive cost. Learn more at www.u-renew.com.
About Hunter Farms, Inc.
Hunter Farms, Inc. was established in 1937 by John Wesley Hunter, Sr. and his wife Mollie Lee. The couple left a 1000-acre legacy for their nine children. They have maintained this legacy by managing the farm in sunny, southwest Georgia ever since, raising grass-fed beef that is certified by the American Grassfed Association and Animal Welfare Approved. For more information about Hunter Farms, Inc., contact Chad and Bishop Hunter at 229-309-4332.
Media Contacts
Jakky Shanahan
678.881.0014 x708
jakky@u-renew.com
www.u-renew.com
Dave Snyder
410-470-9700
David.snyder@constellation.com
www.constellation.com
