USA: Schools in California to save on electricity bill through Conergy PV system

PV solution and service provider builds another 1.3MW plant for education facility in Corcoran

Denver / Corcoran, February 14, 2014 – Conergy does it again: working with four time partner, Washington

Gas Energy Systems, Inc., the team has successfully completed the installation of seven solar energy systems in California's central valley for the City of Corcoran. This time the partners installed a total of 1.3 megawatts at local school facilities in a combination of both carport and ground mounted solar energy systems – a special expertise of Conergy. Through this project, Conergy further expands its cooperation with utilities in the USA on projects not financed by the end-user of the clean energy but by a third party.

As EPC, Conergy is responsible for engineering, procurement of product and constructing the system, as well as ongoing operations and maintenance. The long term ownership of the solar plants belongs to Conergy's partner Washington Gas Energy Systems, with whom the PV solution and service provider has already executed other projects in both California and New Mexico.

City of Corcoran to save on electricity costs through self-consumption

The energy produced by the power plants will be used directly by the schools to avoid increasing energy prices and to stabilize overall costs for the school district. The schools will be using 100% of the generated electricity via a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Washington Gas Energy Systems that has a term of 20 years.

The more than 4,400 solar modules will produce more than two million megawatt hours of clean solar power
every. That is the same amount of energy sufficient to supply more than 21,000 laptops running eight hours a day for a year. And, the installations are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions equal to recycling around 560 tons of waste instead of sending it to a landfill, or taking more than 312 passenger cars off the road for one year.

Washington Gas Energy Systems supports communities on their way to sustainability

Thanks to the PPAs, institutions such as the City of Corcoran and its schools enjoy electricity prices
guaranteed over 20 years that are below the market level for power from the grid. The operators and investors
of the plants, for their part, receive a reliable yield over the term of the PPA.

Third party financing and grid parity are the key for growth in the US solar market

"Solar power purchase agreement programs, where consumers pay only for solar kilowatt hours produced
instead of making the upfront investment, are becoming mainstream. States with high retail electricity costs and
high solar insolation like California and Hawaii have reached or are close to reaching grid parity," said Anthony
Fotopoulos, Conergy Americas, CEO. "Solar power is considerably cheaper today than power from the grid.
With a third-party-financed PV system, the end consumers benefit from both: low and stable prices for clean
electricity and no large investments in the plant itself."

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