Savion set out on its first full year in 2020 following the company’s official launch in November 2019. Although the journey was not as anticipated, we are concluding the year stronger and more unified. We are proud of our accomplishments during this unique and challenging year.
In 2020, the company signed 837 megawatts (MW) of power purchase agreements (PPAs) and offtake agreements and closed on the sale of solar projects totaling 220 MW. The energy expected from these power agreements and project sales is enough to power the equivalent of 200,830 U.S. homes. Some of the publicly announced deals included:
Dominion Energy Virginia signed a PPA to receive 20 MW of power from Savion’s Westmoreland County Solar Project in Westmoreland County, Virginia. (February)
Alliant Energy announced the acquisition of two Savion Wisconsin solar projects: Wood County Solar Project and Richland County Solar Project. (May)
American Electric Power signed a PPA with Savion for the 200 MW Atlanta Farms Solar Project in Pickaway County, Ohio. (October)
Through Novis Renewables Holdings, LLC (Novis), Falck Renewables North America, Inc. and Eni New Energy U.S., Inc. executed an agreement with Savion to acquire the Westmoreland County Solar Project. (November)
Dominion Energy Virginia signed a PPA for 75 MW of solar power from Savion’s Wythe County Solar Project, located in Wythe County, Virginia. (November)
In addition to many project-specific successes, this past year was also one of tremendous growth within the organization:
The Savion staff grew from 77 to 117 employees between January and December.
Savion announced the expansion of its senior management team. With the addition of Nick Lincon as President and Tim Dobney as deputy Chief Operations Officer (COO), the company also promoted Scott Zeimetz to Chief Development Officer and hired Diana Scholtes as Chief Commercial Officer. Chief Executive Officer Rob Freeman and COO Geoff Coventry joined Savion’s Board of Directors.
The Savion solar and energy storage project portfolio grew to more than 130 projects (in-development, operating, under contract, or under construction), totaling more than 11 GW. In addition, the team successfully executed its first solar + storage co-located power purchase agreement with a public utility. The details of the agreement and the project will be released in 2021.
Savion was honored to have donated more than $50,000 to various groups and organizations, including charities in our project communities.
For our team, we eagerly look ahead to the coming new year as we transition into the next chapter of our business and maintain focus on the company’s momentum.
For our industry, we anticipate that 2021 will be a record-breaking growth year for renewable energy, and we remain optimistic about the continued expansion of solar and energy storage in the U.S. New opportunities and new hope exist for the strong advocacy of clean energy and swift climate actions through policy support and regulatory reform at the state and federal levels:
Solar is now the cheapest form of energy, and the technology continues to improve and become more efficient and widely accepted. This means fewer carbon emissions, a continued increase in job opportunities, and economic development for rural America.
Due to the changing priorities of investors, consumers, employees, and stakeholders who want organizations to act on environmental initiatives, the importance of corporate sustainability continues to rise. This will only create more demand for renewable energy, and we expect to see this positively impacting PPAs and other strategies for clean energy sourcing by corporates and industrials.
According to Wood Mackenzie and the U.S. Energy Storage Association’s “U.S. Energy Storage Monitor” report, the record-breaking deployment of energy storage in 2020 was just the beginning. The industry is expecting unprecedented growth in energy storage in the near future, and Savion is well-positioned to participate in that growth.
Together, we experienced a powerful year filled with many accomplishments. Thank you to our team, customers, partners, vendors, host communities, and landowners for helping us forge ahead, overcome obstacles, and adapt to new processes. It is through these relationships that we truly measure our year of success.
Despite all the challenges in 2020, there’s still much to be thankful for as we move forward with great expectations. Our hope for everyone is a healthy, strong, and prosperous 2021. Please take a minute to watch our 2020 Savion Year in Review Video.