GHG Emissions, Finance, Solar  -  December 17, 2024

City of Cambridge Signs Solar VPPA

The City of Cambridge signed a virtual solar power purchase agreement (VPPA). 

MN8 Energy (MN8), a renewable energy company, announced it will own and operate the 135-MWac Prairie Solar project in Champaign county, Illinois, which includes 50 MWac of capacity dedicated to the City of Cambridge's VPPA.

The City of Cambridge's dedicated 50-MWac portion will generate approximately 113,000 MWh of clean energy annually. Boston-based Sustainability Roundtable, Inc. facilitated the City of Cambridge's transaction through their Net Zero Consortium for Buyers (NZCB), an innovative buyers’ community for utility-scale clean energy.

The project's location on the MISO grid, where only 32% of energy comes from low-carbon sources, means it will deliver approximately 2.6 times the emissions reductions compared to equivalent solar generation in Massachusetts. Based on 2022 EPA data, Cambridge's 50-MWac portion alone is expected to avoid 70,510 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually by displacing fossil fuel generation.

Construction of the Prairie Solar project is expected to achieve commercial operation before 2026. 

"MN8 Energy is proud to own and operate this innovative project, providing a pathway for a distinguished U.S. city like Cambridge, MA, to take meaningful action on climate change, underscoring our commitment to providing decarbonization solutions for enterprise customers," said Jon Yoder, President and CEO of MN8 Energy, in a statement. "By strategically locating this project in one of the nation's most carbon-intensive grids, we're maximizing both the environmental and community benefits of renewable energy deployment."

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