Navisun, an independent power producer with operations across the United States, and Queen City Solar, a North Carolina-based solar developer founded and led by energy industry veteran Keith Akers, are pleased to announce a structured co-development partnership that is already advancing 30 megawatts (MW) of affordable community solar power to Marylanders and benefitting energy communities and consumers across the state.
The collaboration between Queen City Solar and Navisun not only supports the development of more solar energy but also serves as an example of the potential for well-structured partnerships between startup developers and long-term owners.
Queen City Solar will leverage its strong landowner relationships and development expertise to acquire sites, advance development, and move projects through permitting. Meanwhile, Navisun will take ownership and fund the projects from an early stage, with the partners sharing both risk and upside in their work together.
Four of the initial projects will be located in Western Maryland on underutilized land: dormant agricultural lots, odd lot parcels, and former mining sites; the other five will be located in Central and Eastern Maryland and will be built on underutilized farmland or family plots. Landowners will receive yearly lease income in exchange for hosting the solar arrays. Cumulatively, the 30 MW will benefit 3,000 customers, at least half of whom qualify as low- or middle-income.
"Co-development is a core strategy for us, and we're committed to developing, co-developing and building community solar projects that serve energy communities and those who haven't traditionally been able to benefit from solar," said Matt Preskenis, Navisun's Senior Vice President of Business Development. "These projects will be developed into Maryland's community solar program in a way that directly benefits income-qualified customers statewide, with more to come."
Navisun is currently Queen City Solar's exclusive co-development partner in Maryland. The collaboration stemmed from Navisun's established record of successful partnerships and steady streams of capital.
"Having a well-financed partner who has an in-house construction team and is an owner-operator helps to minimize unknown variables and keep all parts of the project under the same roof," said Keith Akers, the Founder of Queen City Solar. "Between our collective industry experience and Navisun's strong balance sheet, landowners can take comfort in knowing that their project will get built — and just as importantly, they'll be working with the same team from day one."
The first half of the projects aim to finish development in early 2025 and to break ground later that same year, with the second half not far behind.
