LONDON & FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 25, 2024--
Today Ameresco Sunel Energy SA announced its role in the construction of Lightsource bp’s 560 MWp Enipeas solar project in Greece. This flagship project, one of the largest solar sites in Europe, underscores Greece’s commitment to sustainable energy and economic resilience. Ameresco Sunel Energy SA is a joint venture between Ameresco, Inc., (NYSE: AMRC), a leading cleantech integrator specializing in energy efficiency and renewable energy, and Sunel Group, an international leading solar PV EPC contractor. The joint venture has successfully secured a contract to construct the Enipeas project for Lightsource bp, marking a notable advancement in Greece’s solar energy sector.
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Lightsource bp, a global leader in the development and management of solar energy projects, started its operations in the United Kingdom in 2010, and has since developed an installed capacity exceeding 9.5 GW of solar projects across 19 markets.
The Enipeas project is located in the regions of Larissa and Fthiotida and it is expected to reach completion within 18 to 24 months. The project comprises two clusters: Skopia, a 400 MWp southern cluster and Kalithea, a 160 MWp northern cluster, where nearly 970,000 photovoltaic modules will be installed. Upon completion, the project is expected to generate 0.90 TWh of electricity annually, powering 225,000 households and reducing CO2 emissions by 379 kt per year.
“The 560 MWp Enipeas project contributes substantially to create a more sustainable future for Greece as it will provide affordable, secure, and cleaner energy and will support the country’s decarbonization goals and energy independence. We are excited to partner with Ameresco Sunel Energy SA on Enipeas, one of the largest clean energy projects of its kind in Europe”, said Natalia Paraskevopoulou, Lightsource bp Head of Country for Greece. “Additionally, the Enipeas project will contribute to boosting the local economy. The presence of workers and contractors will drive demand for housing, groceries, and other local services, generating additional income for local businesses and entrepreneurs.
As the EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) and O&M (Operations and Maintenance) provider, Ameresco Sunel Energy SA is dedicated to ensuring the project's success through sustainable practices. Ameresco Sunel Energy SA is deeply committed to supporting local communities through this project, having already hired several local contractors and service providers, including a local civil contractor, community liaison officer, security guards, environmental subcontractors, water supply services, aggregates, and concrete supplies as well as a welfare cleaner. Ameresco Sunel Energy SA has rented several accommodations in Skopia Village for project personnel and provided two tractors to the communities of Skopia and Kallithea. The team plans to further boost local employment by hiring additional workers, security guards, and subcontractors for various construction and infrastructure related jobs.
“Our efforts align with Lightsource bp’s commitment of delivering cleaner, more secure energy while using local talent as much as possible for Greece,” said George Sakellaris, CEO at Ameresco. “We’re excited to work with the Lightsource bp -team in supporting the country’s decarbonization and energy independence goals as well as the local economy.”
"We are thrilled to be part of the Enipeas Solar PV Project. This collaboration with Ameresco and Lightsource bp highlights our commitment to accelerating the transition to renewable energy in Greece” said Konstantinos Zygouras, CEO of Sunel Group. "Our team is dedicated to delivering high-quality EPC services that will make a lasting impact on the local community and environment."
To learn more about Ameresco, visit www.ameresco.com.
About Ameresco, Inc.
Founded in 2000, Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE:AMRC) is a leading cleantech integrator and renewable energy asset developer, owner and operator. Our comprehensive portfolio includes solutions that help customers reduce costs, decarbonize to net zero, and build energy resiliency while leveraging smart, connected technologies. From implementing energy efficiency and infrastructure upgrades to developing, constructing, and operating distributed energy resources – we are a trusted sustainability partner. Ameresco has successfully completed energy saving, environmentally responsible projects with Federal, state and local governments, utilities, healthcare and educational institutions, housing authorities, and commercial and industrial customers. With its corporate headquarters in Framingham, MA, Ameresco has more than 1,500 employees providing local expertise in North America and Europe. For more information, visit www.ameresco.com.
About Lightsource bp
Lightsource bp is a global leader in the development and management of solar energy projects. Most recently, bp has announced the intention to fully acquire Lightsource bp. It is currently operated as a 50:50 joint venture with bp.
Our purpose is to deliver affordable and sustainable solar power for businesses and communities around the world. Our team includes over 1200 industry specialists, working across 19 global regions. We provide a full service to our customers, from initial site selection, financing and permitting through to long-term management of solar projects.
For more information visit lightsourcebp.com, follow us on Twitter @lightsourcebp, Instagram @lightsourcebp, youtube @lightsourcebp or view our LinkedIn page.
About SUNEL Group
SUNEL Group is an international EPC contractor and Developer. Founded in 2006 by Greek stakeholders, the group has won the trust of the international investment community by its professionalism, reliability, efficiency, and work ethics, thus creating a strong and recognizable brand. Since 2012, Sunel has been rapidly expanding, by establishing operational centers in Athens, London, Valencia, Dubai and Istanbul. It has operated on 4 continents and has implemented to date 500+ projects, with a total capacity of over 1,000 MWp in Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates. It is currently constructing projects in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, United Kingdom and Chile, of a total capacity exceeding 1.000 MWp. For the next 5 years SUNEL is planning to develop solar projects and BESS of over 3.000 MW, in cooperation with strategic investors. For more information, visit www.sunelgroup.com.
The announcement of a customer’s entry into a project contract is not necessarily indicative of the timing or amount of revenue from such contract, of the company’s overall revenue for any particular period or of trends in the company’s overall total project backlog. The company’s share of this project was included in our previously reported contracted backlog as of March 31, 2024.
Solar Panels (Photo: Business Wire)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Residents of the Carrollton neighborhood in New Orleans are among thousands who remained without power Friday after Hurricane Francine passed through. Their frustration mounted as the city’s electrical provider, Entergy, sent out notifications informing some people their power had been “restored” even though they still had no electricity.
“Every single storm, every one, no matter how big or how small, the same thing happens,” said Rudy Cerone, 71, referring to the power outages. “Entergy just doesn’t seem to take the necessary preparatory actions to harden this system to provide the power that we’re paying through the nose for.”
An Entergy New Orleans spokesperson said the city had restored power to more than 40,000 customers since Thursday and that many more would regain electricity by the end of the day Friday. Around 6,500 Entergy customers in the city lacked power as of Friday afternoon, part of about 95,000 customers in Louisiana still without electricity, according to the tracking site poweroutage.us.
The spokesperson also said the information used to update outage numbers comes from crews in the field.
“These steps take time, and our teams are committed to providing customers with the latest restoration information as it is available,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said electricity is the major issue facing the state since Francine rolled through.
“The biggest challenge we have had in this storm is utilities – trying to get the power back on,” Landry said at a news conference Friday afternoon.
Prior to Francine making landfall, utility crews were pre-positioned in areas that would likely be impacted by power outages, Landry said.
“The speed under which they’re putting those utilities online comes from the fact that prior storms have given us an opportunity to build grid resilience,” he said.
Another Carrollton resident, Alexandra Canary, 73, said she left to stay with her son in another part of the city where power had returned and she could sleep with the comfort of air conditioning. But she was annoyed at the inconveniences of the power outage, like having to throw away all the perishable food items in her refrigerator, and the stuffy heat of her own home.
“It’s not pleasant, I’ll survive it, but it just seems unbelievable that their system is not working,” she said.
Davante Lewis, an elected member of the state Public Service Commission that regulates utilities, did a ride along on Thursday with Entergy to assess the damage. He said much of it was broken branches and trees — likely weakened by recent drought conditions in the state — on power lines.
“I think what we are seeing right now is a lot of vegetation issues and we just don’t have enough hands to move it (debris) that fast or enough hours in the day to safely do so in sunlight,” Lewis said.
Utility crews from Oklahoma, Florida, Texas and elsewhere are working to restore power, Lewis said, with projections for full restoration by Sunday.
“Any amount of time without power in Louisiana, especially for vulnerable communities, is too long,” Lewis said. “But we have seen restoration times a lot shorter than some of the earlier predictions and we are faring better.”
The storm, which drew fuel from exceedingly warm Gulf of Mexico waters, came ashore Wednesday in Louisiana with 100 mph (160 kph) winds and drenched a large swath of the South, including parts of Arkansas and Florida. Forecasters expected Francine to weaken Friday as it crossed northern Arkansas, but the storm's slow progress will mean days of heavy rain in the Southeast, creating a flash flooding risk.
Another 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 centimeters), with about 8 inches (20 centimeters) in some locations, were expected in parts of central and northern Alabama through Sunday. In northeastern Mississippi, western Tennessee, western Georgia and the Florida Panhandle, another 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) was expected.
No deaths or serious injuries have been reported in Francine's aftermath.
Rushing water nearly enveloped a pickup truck in a New Orleans underpass, trapping the driver inside. A 39-year-old emergency room nurse who lived nearby waded into the waist-high water with a hammer, smashed the window and pulled out the driver. The rescue was captured live by WDSU-TV.
“It’s just second nature I guess, being a nurse, you just go in and get it done, right?” Miles Crawford told The Associated Press on Thursday. “I just had to get to get him out of there.”
In the coastal community of Cocodrie in southern Louisiana, where many families own seasonal homes along the bayou for fishing, police guarded a road to prevent looting as people cleaned their properties.
Brooks Pellegrin, 50, and his family cleared muck out of their campsite, a two-story structure with a large dock on a canal about 14 miles (22 kilometers) from the Gulf of Mexico. They worked well into Thursday afternoon raking marsh grass and spraying down muddy floors after a 10-foot (3-meter) storm surge washed away the building’s back wall, porch and much of the boat deck.
“We built everything up so we wouldn’t have to do this. This one brought in a lot more water than Ida,” Pellegrin said. “It packed a lot more punch than I was expecting.”
For many in the area bordered by bayous, swamps, lakes and the Gulf of Mexico, threats of flooding and hurricanes have become a way of life, Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre said.
Water comprises about a quarter of the area in the parish, which is home to about 97,000 people south of New Orleans. In 2021, Ida made landfall in the southern point of the parish as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (241 kph).
That storm was “cataclysmic” and “the most significant hurricane” to impact the area. Following the 2021 storm, 90% of homes in the area needed a roof replacement and many houses were damaged beyond repair, Webre said.
Over the years, the area has become more resilient against storms, improving drainage and pumping stations and replacing roofs that can better withstand hurricane-force winds. Residents re also evacuating more quickly when there are significant storm threats, Webre said.
“This population is very resilient. They’re very independent. They’re very pioneering,” he said.
Cline reported from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Associated Press writers Kevin McGill in New Orleans and Curt Anderson in St. Petersburg, Florida, contributed to this story.
Alexis Dibuono stands in her hallway as she takes in the salvage work that needs to be done to her flood damaged home, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Norco, La., two days after Hurricane Francine swept through the area. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
An egret forages next to the flooded on-ramp to Interstate 10 in Laplace, La., Friday, Sept. 13, 2024 , two days after Hurricane Francine swept through the area. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
Gavin Hinchman with Precision One Construction Group carefully steps around water-damaged doors and walls as he guts part of a flooded home in Norco, La., on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, two days after Hurricane Francine swept through the area. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
Cars drive off of Interstate 10 in Laplace, La., on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, as floodwater still covers the roadway two days after Hurricane Francine swept through the area. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
Debra Matherne describes her experience as she rode out Hurricane Francine the previous night, along Bayou Pointe-au-Chien, La., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Natalie Bergeron, a letter carrier who has been delivering mail on this route for 43 years, helps a customer clean up debris who took damage from Hurricane Francine, in Cocodrie, La., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Kelsie Schmidt, right, walks a board to a debris pile from her family's home after floodwater came up a few inches in the house making most of the walls, floors, and doors wet after Hurricane Francine in Kenner, La., in Jefferson Parish, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)
Flooding along Whitney Street in the Shoreline Park neighborhood in Hancock County, Miss., after Hurricane Francine on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (Hannah Ruhoff/The Sun Herald via AP)
John Finney and his son Gabriel, 2, using gloves a little too big for him, clean up debris after Hurricane Francine near their home in Kenner, La., in Jefferson Parish, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)
Louisiana National Guard Maj. Gen. Thomas C. Friloux, right, leads Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and Louisiana State Police Col Robert P. Hodges to a helicopter for an aerial tour of damage from Hurricane Francine, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Baton Rouge, La., (Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate via AP)
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Baton Rouge, La., regarding the impact of Hurricane Francine on the state of Louisiana. (Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate via AP)
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Baton Rouge, La., regarding the impact of Hurricane Francine on the state of Louisiana. (Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate via AP)
Flooding along Whitney Street in the Shoreline Park neighborhood in Hancock County, Miss., after Hurricane Francine on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (Hannah Ruhoff/The Sun Herald via AP)
Debra Matherne describes her experience as she rode out Hurricane Francine the previous night, along Bayou Pointe-au-Chien, La., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A man walks through floodwaters along Tigris Street in Shoreline Park in Hancock County, Miss., after Hurricane Francine on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (Hannah Ruhoff/The Sun Herald via AP)
Bailee Boudreaux, 14, center, and her family bring out the chickens they let sleep in their house during the height of Hurricane Francine in Houma, La., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
Bailee Boudreaux, 14, center, and her sister, Brylee, 7, back right, check on the chickens they let sleep in their house during the height of Hurricane Francine in Terrebonne Parish, La., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
Shawn Murphy removes drywall at a friend's house after floodwater came up a few inches in the house making most of the walls, floors, and doors wet after Hurricane Francine in Kenner, La., in Jefferson Parish, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)
Little Caillou Fire Department staff take initial surveys of the damage from Hurricane Francine at the end of Highway 57 in the southern most point of Terrebonne Parish, La., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
City of Tallahassee, Florida utility crews help straighten a utility pole s damaged by Hurricane Francine Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in downtown Houma, La. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
Jansen Pellegrin, back right, and Drew Foret, right, remove a small tree that floated into a living room area at their fishing camp from Hurricane Francine in Terrebonne Parish, La., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
Allen McCoy helps clean out his family's camp, which took on a storm surge, in the aftermath of Hurricane Francine, in Cocodrie, La., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Jansen Pellegrin, right, rakes away marsh grass that floated into a living room area at his family's fishing camp from Hurricane Francine in Terrebonne Parish, La., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
Tombs are seen after being disturbed by flooding, in the aftermath of Hurricane Francine, in Dulac, La., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Tombs are seen after being disturbed by flooding, in the aftermath of Hurricane Francine, in Dulac, La., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Lori-Ann Bergeron checks on the graves of her sister and mother to see that they were not disturbed by flooding, in the aftermath of Hurricane Francine, in Dulac, La., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
