A unit of Greenbacker Renewable Energy Co., a renewable energy investment manager and independent power producer, has purchased a 54 MW to-be-constructed wind farm from PowerWorks, a renewable energy project developer, owner and operator. The wind farm, Panther Creek, is Greenbacker’s first wind energy asset in the state of Illinois.
With the transaction, Greenbacker continues to scale its wind energy portfolio in the Midwest, where it currently has over 190 MW of operating wind assets. The project, located in Pike County, will be Greenbacker’s largest clean energy asset in Illinois, a state in which the renewable energy company has also built a growing community solar presence.
“We’re thrilled that our partnership with PowerWorks has enabled Greenbacker’s wind fleet to expand into new territory in a big way,” said Charles Wheeler, CEO of GREC. “Not only is Panther Creek our first wind asset delivering cheaper clean energy in the Illinois market, once complete it will also be our largest wind project in the entire Midwestern region.”
Panther Creek is in the final stages of design and development, with necessary permits, land leases, and an interconnection agreement in place, and is slated to reach commercial operation in 2024. When completed, the wind farm is expected to produce enough clean energy to offset over 130,000 metric tons of carbon a year.
“We are very pleased to announce our partnership with Greenbacker and this exciting advancement for the Panther Creek Wind Project,” said Morgan McGovert, Senior Vice President of PowerWorks. “Panther Creek is a wonderful asset for the community, bringing clean and reliable energy, new jobs, and economic opportunities for many years to come.”
Greenbacker’s fleet of clean energy projects comprises nearly 2.9 GW of generating capacity (including the Panther Creek project and other assets that are to be constructed). Since June 2016, Greenbacker’s real assets have produced over 4.9 million megawatt-hours of clean energy, abating more than 3.5 million metric tons of carbon. These projects support over 5,200 green jobs.
