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Community Energy Will Build Largest Solar Power Project in PA

Receives 7-Year Commitment from Franklin & Marshall College

Community Energy presents Franklin and Marshall with a certificate of recognition for the Keystone Solar Project. Watch the video! 

Radnor, PA, July 6, 2011 – Community Energy is partnering with Franklin & Marshall College for the largest solar project in Pennsylvania.  With the agreement, F&M will purchase Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs) from the Keystone Solar Project that Community Energy will build on farmland in East Drumore Township, Lancaster, PA in 2012.

The Keystone Solar Project is a 6 megawatt (DC) ground-mounted solar project that will produce approximately 7,500 MWh of electricity annually, the equivalent of powering 950 homes or avoiding 4,200 tons of carbon dioxide each year. Community Energy is the developer of the Keystone Solar Project and is working in partnership with Exelon Generation, the wholesale off-taker on the project. 

“We are proud to work with Franklin & Marshall in bringing utility-scale solar to Pennsylvania. Franklin & Marshall is demonstrating strong leadership in Pennsylvania renewable energy by stepping up to a long-term commitment to the Keystone Solar Project,” said Brent Alderfer, CEO and Founder of Community Energy.

F&M has been purchasing wind generated Renewable Energy Credits from Community Energy since 2002, but this is the first time that a retail electric customer in Pennsylvania has committed to purchase SRECs from a solar project prior to construction. A Renewable Energy Credit (REC), also known as a green tag, represents the environmental and economic value of 1 MWh of electricity produced from renewable energy sources.  RECs function as a form of currency that allows the environmental attributes of renewable energy generation to be sold as a separate product. 

The College’s Associate Vice President for Facilities Management, Maria Cimilluca said, “Franklin & Marshall has been working for many years to support sustainable energy solutions. Because the Keystone Solar Project is a local endeavor, it is a huge opportunity for the community as well as F&M to jump on board now.”

A long-term commitment like this makes renewable energy projects possible, and it also helps the cause of land preservation. The bonded removal of the project after 25 years will return the land to farming richer in nutrients than it is today. 

About Community Energy, Inc.

Community Energy, Inc. (CEI) has been leading renewable energy development since its founding in 1999.  By launching the market for direct sales of renewable energy to retail electric customers, CEI first leveraged electric choice to build demand for new renewable projects, and went on to deliver wind energy at significant scale.  In 2009, CEI expanded into solar project development, focusing on utility-grade projects in advancing solar markets.  CEI continues to lead the industry by offering the full economic and environmental advantages of solar and wind energy to its array of customers and utility partners. Company projects include the Bear Creek Wind Farm, a 24 megawatt project in built in 2006 in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains and a 7.8 megawatt Vineland Solar Project in the City of Vineland, NJ.   For more information, visit www.CommunityEnergyInc.com

About Franklin & Marshall College
Franklin & Marshall College is a highly competitive, national liberal arts college of 2,200 students located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1787, the college today is known as a place where the liberal arts and sciences are connected to the real world, where innovation meets practicality, and where students are engaged in the hard work of having an impact on the world. For more information, visit www.fandm.edu.