Pinesburg Solar LLC is committed to meeting the operation target date in summer 2016 for its 8-MW (ac) project in Washington County, Md., and estimates that a March 2016 approval from the Maryland Public Service Commission is necessary to allow for sufficient time to allow construction to begin in the late-spring or early-summer of 2016.
The company applied Sept. 4 at the PSC for a certificate of public convenience and necessity on this photovoltaic project. It would be located on a 165-acre site near the town of Williamsport. On Oct. 20, Thomas A. Anderson, the Project Manager for Pinesburg Solar, supplied supporting testimony.
Anderson noted that Maryland is a primary focus of his work as a Project Manager at Community Energy. He has been involved in the development of the project since its early stages and managed or supported its development in collaboration with a team at Community Energy and local external consultants. He is well-acquainted with all aspects of the project including site review and assessment, environmental review and approvals, design and layout, Washington County permits, PJM Interconnection and Potomac Edison/FirstEnergy interconnection studies, and overall project scheduling and planning.
Pinesburg Solar was formed in October 2014 as Queponco Solar LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Community Energy. The name was subsequently changed to Pinesburg Solar on April 14 of this year. Community Energy develops utility-scale renewable energy projects (including with respect to siting, interconnection, permitting, offtake, financing and construction). Community Energy works with several of the nation’s largest energy companies to support the development, provide financing, and/or own and operate its utility-scale solar projects, Anderson noted.
“Pinesburg Solar LLC must obtain revenue from the sale of the Renewable Energy Credits from the project in order to secure financing with a targeted date to begin receiving such revenue in late-summer or early-fall of 2016,” he wrote. “As a result, any delays in the project that extend the start of construction and operation may compromise the financing for the project. It is our goal to align the project construction and interconnection to receive all necessary local and state approvals and engineering documents by early spring of 2016 so that the project can begin operation by late-summer or early-fall 2016. We hope to begin construction by late-spring or early-summer of 2016.”
The commission has established a schedule for this case that sets March 23, 2016, as the target date for a final decision.
