SunEdison and United Renewable Energy (URE), a growing solar energy solution providers in the South East, are working together to create new solar opportunities in Georgia. Leveraging the Georgia Power Advanced Solar Initiative (GPASI), the two companies are currently collaborating on projects totaling approximately 1.3 MW with plans to do more.

600 kW Solar Installation at historic Bethany Farms Bed and Breakfast. (Source: PRNewsFoto/SunEdison Inc., United Renewable Energy LLC)

A ~600 kW solar power plant is scheduled to interconnect this week on land that was once an underutilized pasture. The project is on land owned by Tom and Pam Coleman. With zero up-front capital the couple expect to increase their revenue from land use by a factor of six. "As the independent owners of historic Bethany Farms Bed & Breakfast, we are always looking for ways to increase income without increasing costs to our customers. URE and SunEdison showed us how we could use a small area of our land for solar energy and make a profit from it. The whole process has been smooth and as an added benefit; having the solar power plant on our property has attracted a new customer base. We're really pleased we did this."

Separately, a ~700 kW power plant for the county development authority in Stephens County, Georgia is under construction and expected to be operational in March 2014. By partnering with SunEdison and URE, the county is able to convert undeveloped land to productive use by hosting a solar power system that generates revenue for the county. "The URE and SunEdison team have brought much needed economic activity to the county, and helped us bring revenue from land that had long been off the tax rolls," said Tim Martin, executive director of the Stephens County Development Authority.

"We are proud to partner with SunEdison because their strong commitment to quality is a perfect fit with the way we do business. We are thankful for the vision of the Stephens County Development Authority and the Coleman's in hosting these important projects, and for Georgia Power Company's support of the booming solar market in Georgia and throughout the development and construction of these projects", said William Silva, CEO of URE.

SunEdison's keen focus on growth aligns well with Georgia Power's goal to contract for nearly 800 MWof solar by 2017 through GPASI and other programs.  For small and medium size solar installations, the GPASI program will help make it easier and more profitable for businesses, municipalities, schools and others to sell solar energy to Georgia Power. SunEdison is bringing its financial expertise, advanced solar technology and service capabilities to Georgia organizations to help them realize the financial and environmental benefits of renewable energy. Using proven scalable and replicable business practices is enabling SunEdison to rapidly grow its distributed generation business.

"Small to medium scale distributed generation solar is a major growth engine for our company. With the help of our local partners, our customers get the most value and profit from their installation." Said Bob Powell, President of North America, SunEdison. "Having a partner like URE that we can trust to consistently deliver a quality customer experience is crucial to our business and we are looking forward to continuing to work together to bring new business to both of our companies."