Constellation Selected By State To Source Solar Power For 400+ Accounts, Will Support Developer's 191 MW Offsite Project

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania announced that it has awarded electricity accounts located throughout the state of Pennsylvania to Constellation, which in turn has executed an agreement to purchase power and project-specific renewable energy certificates (RECs) from 191-megawatts of solar currently being developed in Pennsylvania by Lightsource bp.

Constellation’s contract with the Commonwealth, which is to assist the Commonwealth in sourcing approximately 50 percent of its annual energy consumption from renewable supply, is slated to begin in January 2023. Under the contract, the Commonwealth will source solar electricity through the end of 2037, under a fixed-price supply agreement with the Commonwealth

The contract will source RECs from Lightsource bp's Pennsylvania PULSE (Project to Utilize Light and Solar Energy) project, located on seven sites spanning six central Pennsylvania counties. PULSE is expected to achieve commercial operation by December 2022.

When completed, the total 191-megawatt project is expected to deliver 361,000 megawatt-hours of electricity per year, supplying 100 percent of electricity for 434 accounts across 16 state agencies, or about half the electricity used by state government

"To simplify the purchase, the Commonwealth is using a contract structure similar to Constellation’s Offsite Renewables (CORe) retail power product, which enables the development of, and increases access to, renewable energy projects while providing the resources and expertise needed to actively manage offsite power purchase agreements (PPAs). As part of this transaction, Constellation will purchase energy and RECs from Lightsource bp’s solar projects and will then sell the power and project-specific RECs to the Commonwealth’s retail accounts. Constellation electricity charges will appear on each account’s regular utility invoice," Constellation said

"Constellation’s agreement with the Commonwealth marks its largest offsite renewable deal to date. The Commonwealth’s commitment also stands as the largest solar commitment by any government entity in the United States — surpassing any Federal, State, or Municipal commitments announced to date," Constellation said

Penn State Facilities Engineering Institute served as the Commonwealth’s technical advisor on the deal.