Greenbacker acquires sponsor position in 200 MWac / 240

NEW YORK, Nov. 03, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Greenbacker Capital Management (“GCM” or “Greenbacker”), a leading renewable energy asset manager, has partnered, through an affiliated investment vehicle, on a to-be-constructed 200 MWac / 240 MWdc solar plant in Iron County, Utah with rPlus Energies LLC (“rPlus”), a preeminent utility-scale renewable energy developer.

The Appaloosa Solar 1 project (“Appaloosa”) is now the second largest renewable energy project in the overall Greenbacker fleet, in terms of clean power–generation capacity. The asset that previously held that title recently entered commercial operation in neighboring Carbon County: the 80 MWac / 104 MWdc Graphite Solar (Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company’s largest operational solar energy project to date).

Appaloosa reunites many of Greenbacker’s project partners involved with Graphite, which was developed, built, and commissioned by rPlus. Sundt Renewables is again providing engineering, procurement, and construction services. Like Graphite, Appaloosa has a long-term power purchase agreement in place with utility PacifiCorp on behalf of Meta. The contract was developed under Rocky Mountain Power’s Schedule 34 green energy tariff, which allows large customers to purchase renewable energy generated on their behalf.

“Building durable partnerships is critical to building the future of energy,” said Ben Tillar, VP of Investments at Greenbacker. “We’re excited to continue collaborating with these industry experts on utility-scale solar plants like Appaloosa, which will support green jobs, diversify the region’s energy infrastructure, and help Utah run on cost-effective renewable power.”

rPlus, Sundt, and Greenbacker hosted a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the beginning of the project’s construction. At the September 12 event, project partners spoke on the environmental and economic benefits that investing in renewable energy projects like Appaloosa can provide, including in the communities that host them.

“We are thrilled to be working with Greenbacker again,” said Luigi Resta, President and CEO of rPlus Energies. “They have proven to be great partners that share similar feelings of responsibility and deep respect to the communities we are developing in.”

Appaloosa’s construction is expected to rely on many local vendors, bringing patrons to local businesses, delivering revenue to the area, and supporting approximately 250 construction-related green energy jobs. When complete, Appaloosa is expected to generate enough annual clean power to abate over 260,000 metric tons of carbon.¹

About Greenbacker
Greenbacker Capital Management LLC is an SEC registered investment adviser that provides advisory and oversight services related to project development, acquisition, and operations in the renewable energy, energy efficiency, and sustainability industries. For more information, please visit www.greenbackercapital.com.

About rPlus Energies
rPlus Energies develops modern power plants to contribute to the rebuilding of America’s energy infrastructure. Through partnership with the private sector, municipalities, and utilities, rPlus Energies develops utility-scale power plants to access a region’s best mix of renewable resources to enable a more dispatchable and reliable power supply. rPlus Energies has over 30 projects across 15 market areas in the US in active development including solar, wind, pumped storage hydro, and solar plus battery. rPlus Energies is a subsidiary of The Gardner Group, family owned and operated since 1976, which is dedicated to building better communities through thoughtful, sustainable practices in developing and managing real estate, renewable energy and technology, and providing results-oriented philanthropy. Learn more at www.rplusenergies.com.

About Sundt
Sundt Construction, Inc. (www.sundt.com) is one of the country’s largest and most respected general contractors. The 132-year-old firm specializes in transportation, industrial, building, concrete, and renewable energy work and is owned entirely by its approximately 2,000-plus employees. Sundt is distinguished by its diverse capabilities and experience, unique employee-ownership culture, and depth of self-perform expertise in nine major trades. Much of Sundt’s workforce is comprised of skilled craft professionals who, together with the company’s administrative employees, enable Sundt to fulfill its mission to be the most skilled builder in America. Sundt has 12 offices throughout Arizona, California, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, and Utah and is currently ranked the country’s 61st largest construction company by ENR, the industry’s principal trade magazine. 

About PacifiCorp
PacifiCorp is one of the lowest-cost electrical providers in the United States, serving 2 million customers. The company operates as Rocky Mountain Power in Idaho, Utah and Wyoming and as Pacific Power in California, Oregon and Washington. PacifiCorp provides safe and reliable service through a vast, integrated system of generation and transmission that connects communities as the largest regulated utility owner of wind power in the West. For more information, visit www.pacificorp.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to differ materially from those anticipated at the time the forward-looking statements are made. Although Greenbacker believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that the expectations will be attained or that any deviation will not be material. Greenbacker undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement contained herein to conform to actual results or changes in its expectations.

Media contacts:
Greenbacker	rPlus
Chris Larson	Maile Resta
Senior Writer & Media Communications	Communications Associate, rPlus Energies
847.313.9035	707-776-7773
c.larson@greenbackercapital.com	mresta@rplusenergies.com