January 24, 2023 – WATERBURY, VT – With an eye on the future, Green Lantern Solar, a leading renewable energy development and finance company focusing on commercial solar and energy storage systems, is parlaying its 2022 accomplishments to catalyze significant growth in 2023. By adding talent and adjusting its project development strategy, Green Lantern Solar is focused on expanding aggressively by project, location and personnel in the new year.
“Our successes in 2022 set us up to prosper in 2023 and well into the future as we help the nation transition to clean energy,” said Scott Buckley, president of Green Lantern Solar. “We’re committed to doing this through conscientious and ethical business practices that take into account the well-being of the planet and the communities we serve — just as we always have. Green Lantern Solar will continue to provide clean energy to our customers and partners with significant cost savings and long-term benefits.”
The high points of 2022 include:
Development Talent Acquired for Future Growth
Green Lantern Solar hired three strategic project development professionals to drive growth in states where the company already has a presence — and beyond. These project development experts work with landowners, corporations, non-profits and governmental agencies to identify development and savings opportunities that meet specific environmental, social and corporate governance requirements for the company’s development partners.
Projects Benefiting Off-Takers and Landowners
The company continued to expand its footprint, particularly in its home state of Vermont, including projects that benefit residents, schools and businesses. Two such projects are the Chroma Technology array and the Weathersfield array. The 500 kilowatt (kW) Chroma Technology array generates enough energy to offset a large portion of the optics company’s electricity expenses each year. The 500 kW net-metered Weathersfield array offests $150,000 in electricity costs for schools and a retirement community in Weathersfield and the Village of Poultney. Green Lantern Solar developed, constructed and financed the projects.
The company is as committed to partnering with landowners as it is to serving off-takers. Green Lantern saves its offtakers over a million dollars a year in electricity expenses. The company is seeing an uptick in farmers and owners of brownfields, landfills and other sites leasing their property for array development to add another stream of revenue. In many cases, solar arrays have improved the health of properties. Agrivoltaics, for example, has proven to attract pollinators to crop fields, which rely heavily on pollination by bees.
The solar market is forecasted to grow 21 percent annually during the next four years through 2027, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association, and Green Lantern Solar is poised to grow with the expanding market.
Growth in 2023 includes:
Developing Pipeline with Projects Totaling 350 Megawatts
To meet demand in 2023 and beyond, Green Lantern Solar currently has a development pipeline of projects totaling a robust 350 megawatts worth of distribution generation and community solar projects and another 50 megawatts of utility scale projects.
“Green Lantern Solar will continue to develop a variety of project types and sizes across multiple geographic regions to ensure a steady stream of shovel ready projects so homes, businesses and schools can rely on clean and affordable energy to offset their fossil fuel consumption,” Green Lantern Vice President of Development Geoff Sparrow said. “The Inflation Reduction Act is accelerating steady growth and we’re seeing project deployment happening quickly. Solar is already competitive economically with fossil fuels, and we have to sustain that growth to provide the United States with clean and reliable energy.”
Adding New States to Portfolio
Green Lantern Solar plans to expand its footprint beyond Vermont and the Northeast and develop projects in other states across the U.S. With a solid foundation of more than 115 commercial, community and solar + storage projects and more than 65 megawatts completed, Green Lantern Solar will apply its expertise in project origination, development, financing and environmental stewardship to arrays in the new states.
To fund further expansion and development, Green Lantern Solar is raising capital in early 2023.
Expanding Workforce in New Year
The company also plans to add to its workforce at a variety of levels in 2023, with a commitment to recruiting for diversity and inclusion, to keep up with the demand for solar across the country.
“It’s how Green Lantern Solar stays competitive,” Buckley said. “The industry employs more than 250,000 people, and that number is increasing due to demand for solar projects and products. Job growth in the renewable energy industry is outpacing the rest of the economy, and Green Lantern Solar is emerging as a leader among solar companies. 2023 will be one of our best years yet.”
About Green Lantern Solar
Green Lantern Solar is a vertically integrated regional renewable energy development company with a particular emphasis on turn-key commercial solar solutions for municipal, education, healthcare and government entities. Green Lantern works with landowners to revitalize and re-develop low-value sites such as brownfields, landfills, quarries/pits/extraction sites and other challenging real estate. The company provides a full suite of services: development, financing, construction and operations, maintenance and asset management. For more information, https://www.greenlanternsolar.com/, on LinkedIn and @GrnLntrnSolar on Twitter.
