Danish fund management company Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has begun construction of the Mitchell portfolio consisting of five solar projects in North Carolina with 23MW of capacity.
Image: CIP begins construction of 23 solar plants in US. Photo: Courtesy of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners K/S.
CIP stated that these solar plants are being constructed on behalf of the Copenhagen Infrastructure II (CI II) fund.
The fund manager stated that the portfolio is diversified geographically across the state and will be implemented in multiple phases in the coming years. The Mitchell portfolio is considered to be CIP’s first investment in the Southeastern US and the projects are touted to have positive economic impact on the communities including job creation and increased property taxes.
The portfolio includes 5MW Burgaw Solar, which will be located on the coast of North Carolina, 5MW Ennis Solar located in south of Raleigh, 3MW Little Mountain Solar, to be located in north of Charlotte, 5MW Pecan Grove Solar, to be located on the coast of North Carolina and 5MW Traveller Solar, to be located on south of Raleigh, in the state.
CIP senior partner Christian Skakkebæk said: “We have been developing the portfolio in a close partnership with GreenGo who has been leading the daily development work for the project portfolio.
“We are excited to continue working with GreenGo and our strong US-based suppliers, contractors, and operators, as well as the local North Carolina communities and authorities to ensure successful construction and operation of the solar PV projects.”
Reach Construction Group (REACH) has been appointed as the general contractor to provide civil and mechanical services for the projects. Directional Services (DSI) will be the electrical contractor providing all electrical installation and commissioning services, with GreenGo acting as the overall construction manager.
Photovoltaic solar panels for this project will be supplied by First Solar and will also provide operation and maintenance services.
Once operational, the electricity from the solar plants will be sold under long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Duke Energy.
Commercial operations of these projects are expected to begin in the third quarter of this year. Once operational, these projects will deliver enough clean electricity to power up to 5,000 homes per year, annually, in the state. This portfolio is part of CIP’s 1.1GW of US solar PV portfolio.
Last September, CIP through the fund Copenhagen Infrastructure II K/S (CI II), offered $65m loan to finance Gopher Creek wind farm in Scurry County, Texas. This wind farm will have a capacity of 158MW, powered by 79 of V116-2.0 MW Vestas turbines and is expected to begin operations in the third quarter of this year.