HARLINGEN — The city’s first solar farms planned to shoulder up the local electric grid might be springing up across farmland near the airport.

Now, a developer is requesting city commissioners consider granting a special permit to help his company build two solar farms on 13- and 27-acre tracts off Grimes Avenue near Valley International Airport.

John Porter, chief executive officer of Clean Footprint, a Cape Canaveral, Fl., company, is requesting commissioners consider granting the special use permit to develop solar farms generating 1.6 and 3.5 megawatts of alternating current in the area zoned for light industry.

“We are in an energy revolution,” Porter, who said he founded his company 13 years ago, told commissioners during an Aug. 16 meeting. “We believe solar is part of that. We’ve had quite a bit of experience doing this in other communities.”

myRGV.com 8-22-23

“Working with you and your Clean Footprint team has been a truly positive experience. From our initial contact to your presentation at the City Commission meeting to get your project’s Special Use Permit approved, your company’s willingness to cooperate and be transparent throughout the process is highly commendable.”

– Xavier Cervantes, the Planning and Development Director for the City of Harlingen, TX

A proposed $20+ million solar project will come before county officials Thursday night as the land owner and developers seek a special use permit to move the endeavor forward.

David Spence, who owns the Rich Valley site, has farmed the land in question most of his life, raising beef cattle and their feed. He grew up about a mile away. On Saturday afternoon, he pulled his grandson to him and said he hopes this project will allow “me to slow down a little.”

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The U.S. solar industry installed 6.1 GW of solar capacity and had its best first quarter in history, according to the U.S. Solar Market Insight Q2 2023 report released by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie.

The performance was driven in large part by supply chain challenges abating and delayed solar projects moving forward.

Renewable Energy World 6.8.2023

CLEAN FOOTPRINT PERSONNEL ATTEND MICROGRID KNOWLEDGE CONFERENCE

MAY 15-17 ANAHEIM, CA

ATTENDEES: John Porter, CEO  –  David Prybil, Policy and Strategy Advisor

About 1500 attendees, ranging from key Department of Energy officials (handling grants and incentives) and industry behemoths like Schneider Electric and Eaton, all the way through to smaller tech engineering and financial-modeling firms, database and battery manufacturers, and non-profit groups, bringing power to underserved and in-peril communities throughout the globe.

The overall feeling was that there is an ample and ever-broadening opportunity for the use of microgrids, especially with the aid of the Inflation Reduction Act. However, it was also clear that the parameters of federal assistance and the best uses for the technology are still in the early days of being analyzed and executed.

2022 was an incredibly productive year for Clean Footprint, LLC. Here are some highlights.

200 Megawatts of new Solar Projects. We were able to originate two hundred megawatts of distributed generation community solar projects throughout Virginia, Ohio, and Maryland.  Distributed generation means smaller scale ground mounted solar projects generally requiring 30 to 50 acres of land that provide greater local benefits than large scale projects including making cheap clean solar electricity available to homes and businesses in the area.

Building a Stronger Team. We added additional team members and improved on existing capabilities.  Clean Footprint, LLC strengthened our ability to identify sites that are ready for a solar array – identifying potential challenges ahead of time, such as limited capacity on local utility circuits, difficult topography, or wetland areas.  We have built on our expertise in understanding fast moving development in state sponsored programs designed to promote community solar development.

Adapting to Change. As Clean Footprint, LLC continued to work with land owners to get site control for new projects, we gained valuable experience and insight. In this dynamic industry market participants need to be able to remain apprised of the state and federal programs that incentivize solar development and create best practices for responsible solar development. Clean Footprint, LLC has utilized these programs to  identify promising markets to enter based on state and utility programs and local conditions, to the benefit of our shareholders, property owners, and partners.

How we do Business. While the solar business is changing fast, one thing that remains constant is Clean Footprint, LLC’s founding principle – being a part of the transition to a clean energy economy while benefiting the property owners and communities we have the privilege of working with.  We take pride in helping multi-generational farming families earn additional income through the leasing of a portion of their property. Communities we operate in gain additional revenue from our solar arrays as well as benefit from our participation in local nonprofits.

Throughout 2022 Clean Footprint, LLC has focused on rural farming communities. We recognize and respect the desire of these communities to preserve the look and feel of their hometown and we work hard to ensure that we will leave these communities better off. For example, when the leasing period ends and we remove our equipment, the land will be healthier than it was before we arrived. The land will have laid fallow and will be ready for all types of farming activities potentially even qualify for organic farming. We also look to partner with landowners and plant pollinator species along with the solar arrays so that they can keep bees as local pollinators and a potential additional source of income. Clean Footprint, LLC often looks to perimeter plantings around our solar arrays to retain the natural beauty of the surrounding communities.

Going Forward. 2022 was an exciting year for Clean Footprint, LLC, with multiple milestones accomplished. Our team of dedicated professionals is poised to improve on this past year for an even more impactful 2023. We look to diversify our markets and product offerings and expand our reach to working with property owners within the Mid-Atlantic states of Virginia and Maryland, and now as far into the Midwest as Illinois and Ohio.

To all our stakeholders, partners, friends, and family we thank you for your support and collaboration in our ongoing mission to bring about the clean energy economy.