Greenbacker Renewable Energy Co. LLC, an investment manager and independent power producer, has purchased, through a wholly owned subsidiary, a portfolio of up to nine pre-operational solar projects from Norwich Solar. When completed, the Vermont projects will lower power bills for local farmers and give new life to brownfield sites restricted from most uses.

The projects have long-term net metering agreements in place with over 30 agricultural offtakers – local farms and dairies across the state. The net-metering aspect of the portfolio means that the utility will reduce the offtakers’ power bills by the amount of clean energy the projects supply to the grid. Each solar project is expected, on average, to save local farmers approximately $500,000 on energy costs over the lifecycle of the projects.

The portfolio represents Greenbacker’s first transaction with Norwich, a developer and designer as well as engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) provider of clean energy projects throughout New England. Norwich will continue to perform EPC services for the portfolio.

Along with the clean energy and economic benefits these solar projects provide, three project sites will also transform previous brownfields into sources of cheaper renewable power. The Andover project is located on part of a reclaimed gravel pit no longer in operation, and the Thetford Post Mills and Putney Green Acres projects are located on an abandoned landfill and former paper sludge disposal site, respectively.

Each project will have a clean power–production capacity of approximately 840 kW DC, for a total portfolio capacity of up to 7.6 MW DC. Five of the projects are slated to reach commercial operation by the end of 2022, with the other four projects expected to enter operation by the second quarter of 2023.

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