U.S. Department of Agriculture to Provide Grant of USD$1 Million for the Project
Toronto, Ontario – (Newsfile Corp. – February 28, 2024) – UGE International Ltd. (TSXV: UGE) (OTCQB: UGEIF) (the “Company” or “UGE”), a leader in commercial and community solar, announces that it has reached the ‘Notice to Proceed’ (NTP) milestone for a 1.4MW ground-mount solar project in Smithville, Texas. The NTP milestone indicates that financing for the project has closed and all necessary permits and interconnection approvals for the project are in place.
This is UGE’s second solar project in the town of Smithville, Texas; the first (“Smithville 1”), which also totals 1.4MW, reached commercial operation in January of 2023. Both projects were part of an acquisition made by UGE that also includes a 5MW battery energy storage system (“BESS”) which is currently under development.
As with the Smithville 1 project, energy produced by the Smithville 2 project will be sold to the City of Smithville under a Power Purchase Agreement (“PPA”), providing the town with cheaper, cleaner electricity.
“The new Smithville solar farm will reduce energy costs for our City while simultaneously lowering our carbon emissions,” said Robert Tamble, Smithville City Manager. “We look forward to partnering with UGE in the future to bring additional renewable energy to our community.”
Although there is not yet a community solar program in Texas, the market for clean energy in the state is robust, with municipalities and commercial customers routinely procuring large amounts of renewable energy. Additionally, ERCOT, the Independent System Operator (ISO) that controls approximately 75% of the grid in Texas, has well-developed rules for interconnection, making project development faster and easier in Texas than in many other states. UGE will continue to pursue more projects in Texas in 2024 and beyond.
Together UGE’s two Smithville solar projects will generate over 5 million kilowatt hours of electricity each year, enough to power over 700 homes. Annually they will offset over 3,500 metric tons of CO2 emissions, the equivalent generated by burning about 415,000 gallons of gasoline.
UGE had the project appraised by an independent third party for a fair market value of USD$3.1 million or USD$2.22/Watt. UGE will receive a grant through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Energy for America Program (“REAP”), which supports energy efficiency and renewable energy in rural and agricultural areas of the United States. UGE’s grant will total USD$1 million.
Having reached NTP, the Smithville 2 project will now enter deployment and construction – the final phase before reaching commercial operation. UGE has 9 projects totaling 18.7MW* in this final development phase. Once complete, these projects will join UGE’s operating portfolio, which currently stands at 5.6MW.
*In the original press release, these numbers were incorrectly listed as 8 projects and 17.3MW.
About UGE
UGE develops, owns, and operates community and commercial solar & battery storage projects. Our distributed energy solutions provide cheaper, cleaner energy to businesses and households throughout the United States. With over 500 megawatts of project experience, we’re working daily to make renewable energy accessible and affordable for all.
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