Main Street Power Company and Partners Win 2014 "Photovoltaic Project of Distinction" Award at PV America East Conference

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

A three-megawatt (3 MW) solar installation built on a capped landfill in the town of Scituate, Mass., received one of four 2014 “Photovoltaic Project of Distinction” awards from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA). “Scituate Solar I” was chosen by judges from among a pool of 21 semifinalist projects. The announcement was made on June 23 at a special ceremony at the annual PV America East conference in Boston.

The 17-acre project was developed by Brightfields Development, LLC and Syncarpha Solar, LLC, and was engineered and built by Gehrlicher Solar America Corp. Scituate Solar I is owned and operated by Main Street Power Company, Inc., in partnership with MS Solar Solutions Corp. (MSSS), an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Morgan Stanley. Scituate Solar I was financed with a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the town of Scituate, and a debt facility provided by KeyBank. The project qualified for the 1603 Treasury Grant and the SREC I program administered by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER).

Scituate has become the first town in America to generate 100 percent of its city-owned facilities with renewable energy. Additional award-winning attributes of the project include design and engineering considerations that maintain the integrity of the sensitive landfill cap, as well as the adoption of Brightfields Development's solar energy curriculum by the Scituate Public Schools. An online monitoring system that measures the project's real-time and cumulative energy output is accessible to teachers, students and the general public.

"The town of Scituate is very pleased with the support we received from our energy partners in helping us achieve our goal of being 100 percent self-sufficient in powering all of our town with renewable energy,” said Albert Bangert, Director of Special Projects for the town. “We started down this path to improve cost efficiency for our taxpayers and reduce our carbon footprint as a municipality. By combining wind and solar energy sources to power our schools, emergency services, harbor, street lights, and sewer and water treatment facilities, we capitalize on New England's variable weather conditions.”

“We value the collaboration and partnership with MSSS, Syncarpha, Brightfields and Gehrlicher that was needed to co-develop, finance and construct Scituate Solar I,” said Rob Masinter, chief operating officer of Main Street Power. “Brownfield redevelopment creates valuable economic and environmental benefits to local communities, and the team is pleased that the Scituate site's revitalization efforts were recognized by EPA's RE-Powering America's Land Initiative.”

“The town of Scituate showed great foresight in combining green renewable energy with the economic advantages of solar power, and the Scituate Solar I project partners completed the development in spite of significant market uncertainty,” added Pete Pedersen, managing principal of Brightfields Development.

"Syncarpha Capital is thrilled that Scituate Solar I was selected for this Photovoltaic Project of Distinction. The success of this solar landfill project in the Town of Scituate was the result of a large team effort and the involvement of many key stakeholders," said Cliff Chapman, Partner at Syncarpha Capital.

About Main Street Power Company, Inc.

Main Street Power Company, Inc. delivers renewable power through distributed generation solar projects. Main Street Power owns and operates solar assets at schools, colleges, cities, utilities, residences and nonprofits through a partnership with MS Solar Solutions Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Morgan Stanley. A commitment to solving social and environmental problems through clean energy, local jobs creation and solar science education for children has earned Main Street Power a three-star GIIRS rating by B-Lab, the global social impact rating organization. Visit the company online at mainstreetpower.com.

About MS Solar Solutions Corp.

MS Solar Solutions Corp. (MSSS) is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Morgan Stanley MS, one of the world's leading financial institutions. MSSS focuses on helping to develop and finance solar photovoltaic (PV) projects through strategic relationships with industry participants, including developers, suppliers, installers, governmental agencies and the community at-large.

About Gehrlicher Solar America Corp. (GSAC)

Since being acquired by the M+W Group last year, Gehrlicher Solar America has leveraged the parent company's financial strength and global reach and built on its already solid reputation as one of the foremost engineering, procurement, construction, operations and maintenance (EPC O&M) firms in the commercial- and utility-scale solar market. After more than doubling its annual project installation rate to 82MW in 2013, Gehrlicher/M+W continues on a robust growth trajectory in the U.S. and Latin America. Gehrlicher/M+W is expanding its capabilities, taking a leadership role in the integration of energy storage, hybrid power generation and grid stabilization solutions. For more information, visit http://www.gehrlichersolar.us.

About Brightfields Development LLC

Brightfields develops solar energy projects on brownfield properties. For the past 25 years, the Brightfields team has built a strong reputation on successfully completing large remediation and revitalization projects, and it is accustomed to working with state and federal agencies, city managers, town councils and community groups at every step of the process. Each brownfield is different, and Brightfields utilizes its in-house experience to devise a secure, long-term solar solution that is appropriate for the site. Brightfields is currently developing projects in MA, CT, PR, VT, NC and IL. For further information, please visit www.brightfieldsllc.com.

About Syncarpha Capital

New York-based Syncarpha Capital is an investment company that is dedicated to developing and operating commercial and small utility distributed generation solar photovoltaic projects in North America. The company is committed to the widespread adoption of solar energy by utilities, commercial and government electricity buyers. Syncarpha works with a variety of organizations to finance and build on-site solar systems that reduce energy costs and ensure a cleaner, greener future. Syncarpha has completed approximately 30MW of solar projects since inception. Further information is available at www.syncarpha.com.