Virginia — Pivot Energy and Clean Footprint announce their partnership to bring 42 megawatts (MW) of solar energy capacity to 11 projects across Virginia.
The projects are expected to serve households, municipal buildings, and local businesses with clean, renewable electricity for many years to come.
While Virginia may rank 11th nationally in terms of installed solar capacity, growth has largely come from utility-scale projects across the state. However, the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which passed the legislature in March 2020, will jump-start over 16 gigawatts of new solar development, including new distributed generation and community solar.
The neighboring towns of Hurt and Altavista are among the first in the state to experience direct benefits of new solar development through the partnership between Pivot Energy and Clean Footprint as they will host the initial eight solar projects. Local leaders in both communities eagerly anticipate the wide range of possibilities renewable energy will bring to their communities, including new jobs and guaranteed land lease revenue for decades to come.
“We are very excited about these upcoming solar projects as they are the first step toward the Town of Hurt going completely green. We are confident that becoming a green community will attract a lot of businesses, especially those in the tech industry since they are typically interested in supporting clean energy,” said Hurt’s mayor Gary Hodnett.
Altavista will also reap the benefits of solar energy in their community. Not only will the projects provide clean, renewable energy to businesses and households, they will also provide local landowners with stable monthly income for hosting projects on unused portions of their land.
“I’m glad that our land can go toward a good cause. I know we have some environmental problems, and the idea of supplying clean energy to the town of Altavista intrigues me,” said local Altavista landowner, farmer, and Vietnam veteran Ralph English.
Pivot Energy and Clean Footprint are thrilled to collaborate on bringing the benefits of solar energy, resiliency planning, economic development, and jobs to these communities. Clean Footprint is leading early-stage development of the solar projects while Pivot Energy will finance, own, and operate the portfolio over the long term.
“Pivot Energy is a well-respected B-Corporation that was founded on strong commitments to both people and the planet. Their values align very closely with ours, which makes them the perfect partner for us to work with, especially in community-oriented towns like Hurt and Altavista that also stand to benefit tremendously from the economic impact of solar energy,” said Clean Footprint CEO John Porter.
“Clean Footprint’s leadership consistently delivers on doing the right thing and making a positive economic and environmental impact. They prioritize the needs of the local community and put personal relationships front and center, while also continuing to drive the development of more renewable energy. The natural synergies between Pivot Energy and Clean Footprint makes projects like these really special,” said Pivot Energy’s Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, Matt Preskenis.
Both Clean Footprint and Pivot Energy see the Hurt and Altavista projects as an important start to a lasting partnership that has the potential to bring tremendous value to additional towns across Virginia and the broader Mid-Atlantic.
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