“This is a big deal!” Houston Solar Farm opens with ribbon cutting

Nearly a year after the groundbreaking, the Houston Solar Farm celebrated its ribbon cutting on Tuesday, celebrating phase one construction completion.

The 45-acre solar farm, currently the largest solar panel farm in the state, was provided by the Matanuska Susitna Borough (MSB) through a lease the solar farm sits on.

“This is astounding,” said MSB Mayor Edna DeVries, who then reflected that while she may be the public face for the Borough, it was really the work of MSB Manager Mike Brown, the state of Alaska, the Assembly and many employees from the Borough who all spent many hours working to bring the solar farm to life, and that it was also the work of the municipalities, the government, non-profits, etc, working together in the MSB

“You are a shining example of working together. Thank you for selecting the Mat-Su Borough…we’re glad you chose us.”

There are 14,400 solar panels on the farm, which are expected to power approximately 1400 homes in the MSB. Under a 25-year deal, the energy will be sold to the Matanuska Electric Association (MEA), a key partner in the project, starting at 6.7 cents a kilowatt hour, with small annual increases. The project is expected to help diversify energy sources and help stabilize electricity prices in Alaska.

The solar farm is the vision of Renewable Independent Power Producers (RIPP), an Anchorage-based company, spearheaded by Jenn Miller, the Chief Executive Officer of RIPP, who thanked everyone for turning out during the rainy afternoon ceremony.

“Projects like these just don’t happen with one team. It takes a whole bunch of partnerships and everyone working together to make a project like this possible,” said Miller.

Among her partners in developing the solar farm is Clean Capital, which provided the financing for the large-scale project. Miller said that the Alaska Energy Authority, through the power-project loan fund, has also provided a loan for the project.

“This is a big deal, so let’s acknowledge this moment!” Thomas Bryne, the CEO of Clean Capital, whose company is the developer, owner, and operator of clean energy projects nationwide.

“Supporting RIPP in bringing the Houston Solar Farm to life is a particular source of pride for Clean Capital,” he said, adding he is proud to take on projects like the solar farm in a region not typically thought about when dealing with solar energy.

“We’ve taken it as a badge of honor to do solar projects in places that people may not think are logical spots for solar, and nowhere is that more the case than in Alaska.”

Miller said that there were two key characteristics that made this project, and the partnerships formed, successful—trust and courage.

“It was the trust across the partners to work together, and the courage to move forward, to make progress. I think that’s what is going to be essential as a state and as a country to address our energy challenges.”

“I think people think of solar and renewables as the light, fluffy version of energy generation, and I’m here to tell you that there is nothing light or fluffy about it. There is over 200,000 pounds of steel, 14,400 solar panels, over 40 miles of wire, and hundreds of thousands of bolts. The team here worked in the rain, snow, constantly fought off an attack by mosquitoes, so I can’t thank the construction team enough,” said Miller, who said that RIPP construction team, Alaska Line Builders, Premier Electric, and the MEA team were are responsible in getting the farm built.

“Our entire team was sourced from the Mat-Su Borough, so it’s all local labor that built this project,” she said of the employees in addition to the teams brought in to build the farm. Over 30 Mat-Su residents were hired during construction. The lease term is until Aug. 31, 2054, with plans for expansion to 480 acres.

Miller also thanked the City of Houston, which worked on rezoning the land, as well as the neighbors and citizens who worked together to support the project.

She said she believes that the Houston Solar Farm is the first of step of many in Alaska to address the energy challenges.

“Going forward, I think the next big step for us as a state, and as a nation, is that we have two big challenges staring at us. First is climate change, and the second here locally, is our energy supply.” Miller said that one way to head the energy challenges off is to build, something the Bryne agreed with.

“The RIPP team is first to lead on solar and clean energy here in Alaska. They have a vision of bringing massive amounts of clean energy to Alaska, ensuring a future that is sustainable, clean, and ensures that awe-inspiring landscape of this beautiful frontier lasts for generations and doesn’t melt away,” says Bryne, who vowed to be right beside RIPP every step of the way.

After the ribbon cutting, guests were invited to take a tour of the solar farm in order to get a better understanding of the work that was completed and how everything will come together to be a first of many clean energy projects for Alaska.