April 21, 2023 (Houston, TX) – ConnectGen announced today that its proposed South Ripley Solar Project has received a final siting permit from the New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES). Based on a comprehensive review of the record, ORES found that the Project complies with Executive Law 94-c and avoids, minimizes, or mitigates, to the maximum extent practicable, potential significant adverse environmental impacts to the surrounding area.
The South Ripley Solar Project is a proposed 270 MW solar facility with a 20 MW battery energy storage component located in the Town of Ripley, Chautauqua County, New York, which will provide significant long-term benefits to the Town and County for several decades. Through the approved PILOT and Host Community Agreements, the Project is expected to contribute over $60 million in increased revenue to local taxing jurisdictions over its 30-plus year lifespan. In addition, the Project is expected to create up to 200 family-wage jobs during construction.
“We want to thank ORES staff for their comprehensive review of our application, as well as state leaders and NYSERDA for their continued bold leadership in decarbonizing electricity supply,” Caton Fenz, Chief Executive Officer of ConnectGen said. “We appreciate ORES’ recognition of our extensive efforts to minimize and mitigate the environmental footprint of the project, and we look forward to bringing the South Ripley Solar Project over the finish line and delivering economic benefits to the Town of Ripley and Chautauqua County for the next several decades.”
This approval culminates a multi-year, detailed analysis and review of the biological, cultural, and socioeconomical effects of the Project. To further protect important resources in the Town of Ripley, ConnectGen has committed to implementing a Final Forest Clearing and Mitigation Plan in coordination with the Town of Ripley and State of New York to minimize and mitigate potential impacts to local forests, including the preservation of existing forested lands within the Town of Ripley.
The South Ripley Solar Project has executed contracts with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities. Through these contracts, the Project will contribute a significant amount of renewable energy to assist the State of New York in achieving its Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act goal of obtaining 70% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030, supplying enough electricity to power more than 55,000 average New York homes annually.
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About Connectgen
ConnectGen is a multi-technology renewable energy platform dedicated to best-in-class greenfield development, origination, execution and operations. ConnectGen has 139 net MW in operations and a portfolio of over 16,000 MW of wind, solar and energy storage projects in development across the United States. For more information, please visit www.connectgenllc.com. ConnectGen is a subsidiary of 547 Energy, Quantum Energy Partners’ clean energy platform company.
About Quantum Energy Partners / 547 Energy
547 Energy aims to maximize value for its investors by partnering with leading entrepreneurs who are driving growth in the clean energy economy. To date, 547 Energy has invested in ConnectGen LLC, BlueFloat Energy LLC, Aer Soleir LLC, NetOn LLC and certain affiliates of ENORA S.A. 547 Energy was founded and is led by industry veteran Gabriel Alonso and is backed by Quantum Energy Partners, a leading provider of capital to the global energy industry. For more information on 547 Energy, please visit www.547energy.com, email info@547energy.com, or contact Travis Salinas at tsalinas@547energy.com.
Founded in 1998, Quantum Energy Partners is a leading global provider of private equity, credit, structured capital and venture capital to the responsibly sourced energy and energy transition and decarbonization sectors, having managed together with its affiliates more than $21 billion in capital commitments since inception. For more information on Quantum, please visit www.quantumep.com or contact Michael Dalton at +1-713-452-2110.
