Skyview Ventures, a leading renewable energy project developer, announced the completion of its second Grid Carbon Offsets (GCOs) project in West Virginia. The 658.6 kW rooftop solar facility, located in Moorefield, WV, was developed by Davis Hill Development and constructed by Solar Holler, a solar installer based in Shepherdstown, WV. The array, situated at Bramble Farm, is owned and financed by Skyview Ventures. The financing of this project will be supplemented by the sale of GCOs. This is the second project that GCO purchasers have helped to finance in West Virginia this year. The first is of similar size and is located in nearby Old Fields, WV.
GCOs are essential for renewable energy project development in parts of the country that lack clean energy legislation or incentives, where high greenhouse gas-emitting sources, like coal, power the electricity grid and renewable energy projects are not being built. The purchase of GCOs provides the economic stimulus needed to make these projects viable, positively impacting the environment, economy, and health of their underlying communities.
The West Virginia electric utility grid is primarily powered by burning coal. Based on the grid’s emission profile and the solar facility’s production profile, the Bramble Farm project is expected to reduce carbon emissions by over 11,000 tons over its lifetime. The solar facility is expected to offset almost 100% of the farm’s power consumption while saving the farm 20% per year on its electricity bill.