V SEPA GREEN POWER PARTNERSHIP9 Aligning Green Power Partners with New Renewable Energy Projects Pilot Project Summary Project Name Phoenix Solar Farm, LLC Developer Name: Geronimo Energy Contact: Drew Terwilliger, drewffigeronimoenergy.com Renewable Energy Type: Solar PV Total Planned Megawatt Size: 20 MW Phase I: 13 MW Phase II: 7MW Project Location: Putnam County, Georgia Is the project permitted?: Yes. Solar Farms are a permitted use in Putnam County. If no, what is the permit status?: Yes. Solar Energy Farms are permitted use within agricultural districts in Putnam County; no land-use permitting (i.e. Conditional Use Permit, Special Use Permit, etc.) is required for the project. The solar project will require a building permit, wetland permit, and a storm water pollution prevention plan. What is the status of the project's site?: The Phoenix Solar Farm is located approximately 70 miles to the south and west of Atlanta, 40 miles northwest of Macon, and 75 miles to the east of Augusta in eastern Putnam County, GA. The Phoenix Solar Farm encompasses approximately 120 acres and contains 82,000 solar modules within the project boundary. ------- Have land leases been filed with the county?: Yes. What is the status of interconnection, and have system impact and facility studies been completed? (Distribution or transmission level projects are both eligible): An interconnection application and detailed engineering documents have been completed and submitted to Georgia Transmission Corporation. As part of the application process, a system impact and facilities study will be completed for the proposed 24 kV distribution system interconnection. Does the transmission owner (TO) or independent system operator (ISO) have a process to study the project's impact on the local or regional grid and the subsequent cost to interconnect?: Yes. Georgia Transmission Corporation requires such a study in their interconnection agreement and includes the study as part of their application fee. Environmental Impact Statement status: An EIS is not required for the project. Is any element of the project - technology or other - experimental or pilot-phase?: No, all technologies used are proven and have been successfully financed many times in the U.S. What is the long- and short-term operations program of the project? Does the renewable energy technology manufacturer have a technical support team locally available?: Geronimo and Enel Green Power have a detailed maintenance plan for solar photovoltaic power plants that relies primarily on assigning project specific technicians to the project site for module, inverter, and racking maintenance. For wind projects, has a meteorological tower been installed, and when was the tower installed/how much data has been collected?: N/A Who has analyzed the data and what is that person's experience with respect to projects that have actually been financed?: Internal analysis of Geronimo Energy's projects is performed by Michael Morris. Mr. Morris holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Meteorology from the University of Oklahoma. Michael reviewed the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) Typical Meteorological Year 3 (TMY) data set for the proposed project. TMY 3 data is an hourly time series spanning one calendar year produced from a combination of satellite and surface radiance measurements from a variety of platforms and is intended to represent the typical conditions at a given location. System topology - panels, inverters, string counts and lengths, and loss assumptions - and the TMY 3 time series were entered into PVSyst, an industry-standard modeling program for the estimation of energy production by ------- solar facilities, and used to derive the generation values and cross referenced with data obtained from Georgia Solar Energy Industry Association. Can the turbine manufacturer be financed through "traditional" tax equity and debt in the U.S.?: The majority of solar module manufacturers we are currently negotiating with are considered "Tier 1" vendors and can be financed through traditional tax equity and debt in the United States. The other module vendors under consideration can be financed through other means (i.e. self-financing or credit enhancement to entice traditional financing) and that is taken into account when selecting a module vendor. Provide a short summary of how the project views project finance and structure/ownership: Geronimo Energy (Geronimo) has secured an option to and debt arrangements to purchase the Phoenix Solar Farm, LLC, a Georgia based company created by Brewer Renewable Energy, LLC (Brewer) for the purposes of developing a 20MW solar farm in Putnam County. Upon award of a power purchase agreement with an off-taker, Geronimo will exercise its option and complete the remaining project development activities under a joint development agreement with Brewer. Financing for the project will be provided in partnership with Geronimo's strategic partner, Enel Green Power (EGP). Under its partnership agreements, EGP funds Geronimo's operating and development expenses. The capital facility between Geronimo and EGP has substantial financial capacity and anticipates that no third party construction financing would be required to build the project. What are your ideal types of prospective institutions/partners?: We would like to partner with institutions that are willing and capable of entering into contracts of at least ten years in duration, for at least 1,250 megawatt hours (MWh) per year of renewable energy and affiliated renewable energy credits (RECs), equal to approximately 1 MW of nameplate solar capacity from this project. It is preferable if the partner has an investment grade credit rating. About Geronimo Energy Geronimo Energy (Geronimo) is a utility-scale wind and solar energy developer based in Edina, Minnesota. Geronimo's solar development strategy is to find energy solutions that fit specific customer needs, whether that is on- or near-site installations or larger scale solar facilities located in more efficient, lower cost geographical locations. With a fully-staffed team of renewable energy development professionals, Geronimo delivers solar energy with market-leading cost, creative solutions, and efficiency. Geronimo has a development pipeline of wind and solar projects in various stages of development throughout the country with an aggregate nameplate capacity exceeding 4,000 megawatts of clean energy - roughly enough to power 1.5 million American homes. Geronimo also has a crucial partnership with Enel Green Power, the second largest renewable energy generator in the world. More information is available on Geronimo is available at www.geronimoenergy.com. ------- |