SJI remains committed to clean energy initiatives in support of the goals of our region. Consistent with this commitment, we are excited to announce the formation of Catamaran Renewables (Catamaran), a joint venture between SJI subsidiary Marina Energy and renewable industry-leader Captona, to develop, own and operate renewable energy projects.
Captona is an expert in the development, ownership and operation of renewable projects. Collectively, the new Catamaran joint venture brings more than 1.3 GW of operational experience across all types of renewable energy and has financed more than $1 billion in renewable energy transactions.
In conjunction with the formation of Catamaran, the partners have announced the acquisition of two fuel cell projects in Staten Island, New York totaling 7.5 MW from NineDot Energy, an experienced renewable development company based in the NYU Urban Future Lab cleantech incubator in Brooklyn, NY. These late-stage development projects, located along the southern portion of Staten Island, have all secured permits and interconnection rights and are supported by long-term offtake agreements with two creditworthy anchor customers.
The projects are currently under construction and scheduled to be placed into service in October 2020. Marina will own 93% of the project and accordingly, receive 93% of the ITC, cash flows and net income associated with the project. The projects qualify under New York’s Value of Distributed Energy Resources (VDER) program, and 75% of project revenues will be fixed.
“We look forward to building on our proven track record of strategic energy investments by establishing Catamaran Renewables with Captona” said Mike Renna, SJI president and chief executive officer. “Through Catamaran, we will further our strategy pursuing decarbonization initiatives – making measured and strategic investments in quality projects with strong counterparties and offtake agreements and positive long-term returns. Our fuel cell project aligns with this strategy, and when combined with previous investments and projects under construction at our facilities, satisfies our renewable energy goals for 2020.”
