North American renewable energy player Invenergy and impact investment platform Lafayette Square have launched a new community solar platform called Reactivate, for low-to-modern (LMI) communities in the US, with a target to develop 3 GW capacity by 2030.
Under a typical community solar model, solar energy generated by a single solar array installed at an off-site location is subscribed by end customers living closer to the installation. They receive a credit for their share of investment in their electricity bill by the local utility. There are several business models in the domain as explained on the Department of Energy's (DOE) website.
Reactivate will finance, acquire, develop and operate community solar, small-scale utility and next-generation projects as energy storage, building electrification and electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. Target end users will be LMI communities and areas disproportionately affected by the clean energy transition.
As per its business model, Reactivate will supply solar energy to families and individuals who subscribe to its solar projects to receive credits on their energy bills.
The new entity says by 2030, it aims to save $50 million in energy costs for LMI households enter 100 contracts with minority or women-owned contractors and facilitate workforce training for 2,500 underserved workers. This, according to Founder and CEO of Lafayette Square Damien Dwin, can 'create a more inclusive and localized renewable energy production model' to benefit 'historically marginalized communities'.
As partners, both the parent investors will provide Reactivate with capital, technical assistance and dedicated executives to build and operate the company.
Community solar is a growing focus area in the US, more so because the Biden administration sees solar energy as having the potential to account for 40% of the national electricity mix by 2035. The US Department of Energy (DOE) says by 2025, the country targets to install community solar for 5 million households while aiming for $1 billion electricity bill savings (see 2025 Community Solar Target For US).
This is the year 2022's 2nd big announcement from Invenergy after it secured Blackstone as an investor with $3 billion equity (see North America PV News Snippets).