Green Lantern Solar has sold its 500 kW Brighton Solar project in Vermont to Sea Oak Capital. United Power and Silicon Ranch have partnered on 150 MW solar farm in Colorado. Encore Renewable Energy powers up 6 MW solar project in Maine. Read more about these solar installations in the latest edition of the Projects Weekly.
Green Lantern Solar has sold of its Brighton Solar project in Vermont to Sea Oak Capital LLC, a private equity fund focused on expanding access to renewable energy.
Sited on the closed portion of an operating family-owned gravel operation, the project demonstrates the potential to transform otherwise unproductive land into a valuable renewable energy source. The Brighton Solar is yet another example of Green Lantern’s commitment to projects that provide long-term, stable revenue streams to rural landowners and small businesses.
The 500 kWac solar project serves nearby farms, the Town of Brighton, Vermont, and the Newport Ambulance Service, a nonprofit regional ambulance service that covers 18 towns in three counties in Vermont with four stations. This transaction builds on the success of more than a half-dozen Vermont projects Green Lantern Solar has sold to Sea Oak Capital.
“This project epitomizes our mission to deliver clean energy, provide generational sources of income to landowners, support local businesses and revitalize underutilized spaces,” said David Carpenter, VP of development and chief legal officer at Green Lantern Solar. “We had the opportunity not only to develop this project, but in the process, help the landowner achieve full compliance with existing land use permits.”
Sea Oak Capital continues to expand its community-centered portfolio with this acquisition.
“Community solar projects are a cornerstone of our growth strategy,” said Dan Poydenis, CEO of Sea Oak Capital. “Our collaborations with Green Lantern Solar consistently deliver impactful results, supporting Vermont’s renewable energy goals while creating meaningful energy cost-savings for local businesses. Their streamlined approach and commitment to excellence have made this transaction seamless and efficient, and we look forward to continuing this successful partnership.”
United Power, Silicon Ranch expand partnership with 150 MW Byers Solar Farm
United Power Inc., an electric cooperative serving Colorado’s northern front range, has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for its latest solar resource, the 150 MW Byers Solar Farm. Located in Adams County, 10 miles northeast of Byers, the new solar installation is being developed in partnership with Silicon Ranch.
“As United Power continues to add to its diverse power portfolio, the Byers Solar Farm illustrates the best-case scenario for local production,” said Mark A. Gabriel, president and CEO of United Power. “Our partnership with Silicon Ranch allows us to build this project with the latest technology and development techniques to optimize the use of the site. Additionally, there are strong financial and environmental incentives for generating and delivering clean, renewable electricity locally.”
The solar farm will be built, owned, and operated by Silicon Ranch, which will also be responsible for its operation and maintenance, with United Power purchasing all the power it produces. As the long-term owner of both the facility and the underlying property, Silicon Ranch is taking a thoughtful approach to stewardship of the land, with plans to establish short grass prairie at the site by pre-seeding ahead of construction. In addition, the company is exploring opportunities to employ managed sheep grazing on the site, through its Regenerative Energy platform of land stewardship that it deploys at sites across the country, including the Mavericks Solar Farm that serves United Power.
“As we enter our second decade of partnership with United Power, Silicon Ranch looks forward to continuing our meaningful work together by collaborating to help make communities stronger, healthier, and more resilient here in northern Colorado,” said Silicon Ranch cofounder and CEO Reagan Farr.
United Power has partnered with Silicon Ranch on four other energy infrastructure projects since 2014: Fort Lupton Solar (13 MW), Mavericks Solar (6.5 MW), Platteville Solar (16 MW), and Rattlesnake Solar (6 MW). Each of these installations, located within the cooperative’s service territory, was developed working closely with local governments and neighboring landowners to make sure the projects fulfilled the needs of each community and United Power.
“Byers Solar Farm continues United Power’s march toward energy independence,” said Gabriel. “Since leaving our wholesale power contract on May 1, 2024, United Power has worked to build a power portfolio that both reduces our carbon emissions and stabilizes our costs. Our vision to diversify and hyper-localize power production will pay dividends to cooperative members in an increasingly volatile energy market.”
Encore delivers affordable energy to Maine powering up 6 MW of solar
Encore Renewable Energy has completed two solar projects in Maine, totaling 6.3 MW. These are the first two projects owned and operated by the company as part of its transition from project developer to a fully integrated independent power producer (IPP).
The Brooks Solar project is a 4 MW solar array in Brooks, Maine, and Alpine Street Solar is a 2.3 MW solar array in Oakland, Maine. Both projects were energized last month. As the long-term asset owner, Encore will manage the operations and maintenance of the projects which will include dual-use agricultural services like solar grazing.
“Every community-scale solar project involves a wide array of stakeholders, and our philosophy as a company is to collaborate as a trusted partner with every party involved,” said Chad Farrell, founder and co-CEO of Encore Renewable Energy. “When done right, renewable energy assets create meaningful opportunities for utilities, electric customers and developers.”
Farrell added that Central Maine Power was “a great partner” on the projects, working to energize the solar arrays on a timeline that worked for both parties.
“These projects were two of more than 60 solar projects which came online in Maine communities in 2024, totaling 241 new megawatts of new solar power,” said Eric Sutton, VP of electric operations for Central Maine Power. “We strongly support Maine’s climate goals as we continue to connect more projects like these to our power grid in 2025.”
Both projects are delivering locally generated renewable energy to benefit Maine’s economy. Alpine Street Solar’s customers include towns, schools, and other large electric customers, under a robust and comprehensive offtake arrangement facilitated by Competitive Energy Services (CES) based in Portland, ME, and Brooks Solar is providing savings for the electrical bills of several municipal customers as well. Maine’s remote net energy billing program allows these solar projects to distribute these economic benefits to local communities.
“These two projects will provide important long-term economic and sustainability benefits to many of our commercial and institutional clients in Maine,” said Charlie Agnew, VP of Competitive Energy Services.
Agrivoltaic Solutions will deploy local flocks of sheep to graze the land under and around the array, bolstering the local agricultural industry and improving long-term soil quality while providing an efficient, low-carbon vegetation management strategy for the sites.
Tags: commercial and industrial, Community Solar, utility-scale
