Navisun and Queen City Solar Partner to Expand Maryland’s Community Solar Portfolio and Empower Energy Communities
BOSTON, Nov. 12, 2024 – Navisun, a prominent independent power producer with operations spanning the United States, and Queen City Solar, a North Carolina-based solar developer led by energy industry veteran Keith Akers, have announced a strategic co-development partnership. This collaboration is already bringing 30 megawatts (MW) of affordable community solar power to Maryland, benefiting energy communities and consumers across the state.
This partnership not only supports the growth of solar energy in Maryland but also serves as a model for successful collaborations between established companies and innovative startups. Queen City Solar, leveraging its strong landowner relationships and development expertise, will be responsible for acquiring land, advancing development, and navigating the permitting process. Meanwhile, Navisun, with its established track record and financial resources, will take ownership and fund the projects from their early stages, with both partners sharing the risks and rewards.
The initial projects will be strategically located in Western Maryland on underutilized land, including dormant agricultural lots, odd-shaped parcels, and former mining sites. An additional five projects are planned for Central and Eastern Maryland, utilizing underutilized farmland and family plots. These projects offer landowners a valuable opportunity to generate income through yearly lease payments for hosting the solar arrays.
This initiative will collectively benefit 3,000 customers, with at least half qualifying as low- or middle-income individuals. “Co-development is a core strategy for us, and we’re committed to developing, co-developing, and building community solar projects that serve energy communities and those who haven’t traditionally been able to benefit from solar,” said Matt Preskenis, Navisun’s Senior Vice President of Business Development. “These projects will be developed into Maryland’s community solar program in a way that directly benefits income-qualified customers statewide, with more to come.”
Navisun is currently Queen City Solar’s exclusive co-development partner in Maryland, a testament to Navisun’s strong track record of successful partnerships and consistent capital flow. “Having a well-financed partner who has an in-house construction team and is an owner-operator helps to minimize unknown variables and keep all parts of the project under the same roof,” said Keith Akers, Founder of Queen City Solar. “Between our collective industry experience and Navisun’s strong balance sheet, landowners can take comfort in knowing that their project will get built — and just as importantly, they’ll be working with the same team from day one.”
The first half of the projects are aiming for completion in early 2025, with groundbreaking later that year, followed closely by the second half of the projects.
About Navisun
Navisun LLC, a leading solar independent power producer (IPP), is headquartered in Massachusetts. With 37 operational assets across 6 states generating over 106MW and 150GWh annually, Navisun is a major player in the energy transition. The company has 28MW of projects under construction and a development pipeline exceeding 300 MW, solidifying its commitment to supporting the energy transition across the United States. Navisun is a portfolio company of OMERS Infrastructure, a global infrastructure investor and the infrastructure investment arm of OMERS, the defined benefit pension plan for municipal employees in the Province of Ontario, Canada, with C$128.6 billion in net assets (as of December 31, 2023). Learn more at navisunllc.com.
About Queen City Solar
Queen City Solar is a community solar developer dedicated to advancing solar projects that provide local communities with access to renewable energy while preserving land for future generations. Founded by Keith Akers, the company focuses on early-stage land and project development. Learn more at https://www.queencitysolar.net/.
Media contact
Dana Filek-Gibson
DG+ for Navisun
dana@dgplusdesign.com
