COLLINS AEROSPACE AND LUMINACE TO SUPPORT COMMUNITY SOLAR PROJECTS ACROSS PORTLAND

Collins Aerospace, an RTX business, and Common Energy, a leading community solar provider, announced a partnership to support a portfolio of four new community solar projects across the greater Portland area. In aggregate, the projects have a capacity of 12 megawatts and will generate 17 million kilowatt hours of clean energy each year. Clean electricity from the projects will flow directly to the electric grid and replace fossil fuel generation, thereby lowering carbon emissions and benefiting the broader Portland community. The projects will be owned and operated by Luminace, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Brookfield Renewables.

According to the provisions of Oregon’s Community Solar Program, the projects will have a mix of commercial, residential and low-income subscribers. Each subscriber will receive credits on their electricity bills, proportional to their share of the projects, lowering their energy cost. In addition, all subscribers will receive Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). Collins’ facility in Wilsonville, Oregon, will make up the commercial allocation, thereby “anchoring” the portfolio. Approximately 10% of the projects’ credits will be allocated to low-income households, which will receive a guaranteed 20% savings on their electricity bills for 20 years.

“As part of our roadmap to improve the sustainability of our manufacturing operations, Collins is working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at its sites,” said Craig Brown, Wilsonville site leader for Collins. “Through this collaboration with Common Energy and Luminace, we will reduce our Wilsonville plant’s annual carbon emissions by more than 1,000 metric tons—the equivalent of taking 250 gasoline-powered cars off the road for one year. In addition, more than 80% of the facility’s annual electrical consumption will now be allocated from community solar projects.”