New York, October 22, 2024 – CleanCapital, a diversified clean energy company, is proud to announce the addition of a 6.4 megawatt (MW) solar project, Warrior, to its portfolio—marking a significant milestone for New York and contributing to the state’s recent accomplishment of 6 gigawatts (GW) of solar installed across the state. Located at WM’s closed Mohawk Valley Sanitary Landfill in Frankfort, New York, the Warrior solar project is expected to generate more than 7.6 million kilowatt-hours annually, enough energy to power over one thousand homes. The project will provide clean energy to low-income subscribers within the Expanded – Solar For All (E-SFA) community solar program.  

This project, acquired in August 2023, marks the latest addition to CleanCapital’s Adirondacks portfolio, which is comprised of four projects the company acquired from EDF Renewables. The first two projects, Royal and Ruler, closed in November 2022, and the third project, Winema, closed in March 2023. Construction of the Warrior solar project began shortly after the building permit was issued at the time of acquisition. Overcoming challenges such as limited labor and adverse weather conditions, major construction was completed in June 2024.  

The Warrior solar project is built on a closed landfill and a borrow pit, which presented specific engineering and environmental considerations. For the portion on the capped landfill, solar arrays sit on concrete blocks engineered to spread the array’s weight while contouring to the property. This innovative approach ensures environmental safety and structural integrity at the site. The borrow pit section uses traditional driven piles to support the solar array.  

“Developing solar projects on environmentally sensitive land is not an easy feat, but our expertise and experience developing solar and storage projects enabled us to do so with Warrior,” said Paul Curran, Chief Development Officer at CleanCapital. “With the addition of this project to our portfolio, we look forward to expanding access to community solar to disadvantaged communities, achieving savings for low-income customers, and helping in the fight to address the climate crisis.” 

The Warrior solar project stands as a testament to the successful collaboration between CleanCapital, EDF Renewables, WM, and the Herkimer County IDA. EDF Renewables negotiated the lease with WM and the Herkimer County IDA also played a pivotal role in supporting the project. Along with Warrior, the additional projects within CleanCapital’s Adirondacks portfolio—Royal, Ruler, and Winema—amount to a total of 26.475 MW. 

“EDF Renewables is proud to partner with CleanCapital and play an active role in expanding community solar in New York,” stated Rod Viens, Vice President and General Manager of Distribution-Scale Power at EDF Renewables. “Our extensive expertise in designing, developing, and constructing solar photovoltaic generation systems on previously unusable sites, like landfills, brownfields, and wastewater treatment plants is a strength we have delivered to our customers for over a decade.  Warrior, along with Winema, Ruler, and Royal demonstrate our continued commitment to maintaining environmentally conscious practices while driving innovation and growth.” 

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CleanCapital is a diversified clean energy company focused on the middle-market solar and storage industry. Mission-driven to mitigate the climate crisis, CleanCapital leads the energy transition with strategic investments in early-stage, new construction, and operating renewables projects and development partners. To date, the company has invested over $1 billion in projects and companies, including the acquisition of BQ Energy, a national leader in landfill and brownfield renewable energy development.