Strata Solar installs nine utility scale solar projects in North Carolina

Markus Wilhelm, Strata Solar CEO

Strata Solar, a Chapel Hill-based solar provider, has installed nine utility-scale solar projects across North Carolina.

The company has acquired more than $100mm of tax-equity financing from a subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company.

Power from these projects will be supplied to Progress Energy Carolinas, a utility company in North Carolina.

Markus Wilhelm, Strata Solar  CEO

The projects produce enough electricity to power 5,000 households and displace 28,000 metric tons of CO2 per year. Supported by a 35 percent North Carolina Renewable Energy Tax Credit, the projects create local jobs and provide additional income for those who lease their land for the solar projects.

The project will also help build North Carolina’s rural communities.  They bring jobs, significant local spend and increase in the tax base without the requirement of county dollars which is typical of development projects, said Markus Wilhelm, Strata Solar’s CEO.

The three largest projects – Bladenboro, Wagstaff and Nash 58 – all exceed six MWs in capacity and provide a significant boost to the local tax base without requiring additional county expenditures on sewer, roads or any other infrastructure.

Wells Fargo provides renewable energy and cleantech across the U.S. Since 2006, Wells Fargo has provided over $4 billion in tax equity and construction financing for renewable energy projects in 28 states, including over $1.3 billion for more than 300 solar projects.

Wells Fargo set a goal to deploy by 2020 an additional $30 billion in financing to build a greener economy, including loans and investments for clean technology and environmental innovation and projects such as green buildings, renewable energy projects and green businesses.

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