The National Aquarium and Constellation have announced a 25-year competitive electricity supply agreement meant to help the Aquarium better manage energy costs and encourage the development of renewable power in Maryland.
As part of the agreement, Constellation will fund, construct and operate a 4.3 MW grid-connected solar project in Cambridge, Md., developed with OneEnergy Renewables. Scheduled for completion in March 2015, the system is designed to generate an estimated 5.8 million kWh during its first year of operation – more than 40% of the Aquarium's annual electricity needs. The Aquarium will receive solar renewable energy credits from the project for a portion of the term of its electricity supply agreement.
"This agreement with Constellation allows us to"walk our talk' as a conservation organization,’ says John Racanelli, CEO of the National Aquarium." Now, a significant percent of our electricity will come from clean, renewable energy. We hope this will help set a precedent for supporting large-scale, off-site projects and inspire others to take action."
Additionally, Constellation says the long-term power agreement enables the Aquarium to receive a fixed price for electricity supply equal to the amount of power generated by the solar facility while retaining the ability to purchase the remainder of its electricity supply at market rate under Constellation's flexible index program.
Solar firm OneEnergy Renewables, a project developer focused on middle-market projects, led the pre-construction development efforts for the solar power system. The project will feature approximately 14,500 photovoltaic panels, located on about 22 acres.
