2022 started off strong for Inovateus with a significant investment from Galway Sustainable Capital, a private equity-backed specialty finance company. The investment fully integrated our offerings to include origination, development, EPC, financing, and project ownership, allowing us to better serve our utility, commercial, and solar industry partners.
Inovateus already has over 515 MW of solar projects built or under development, with 270 pollinator acres planted or planned on our project sites. The Galway investment will allow us to expand our work in the Midwest and across the U.S. — scaling our EPC operations, offering customers more project financing options, and increasing our ownership of solar and energy storage assets.
Project highlights
As part of this expansion, notable Inovateus projects this year included a 2.62 MW “brightfield” solar project completed this May in Danville, Illinois, on a former General Motors Powertrain Division Plant turned brownfield site. The project exemplifies our sustainability focus, providing a real-life demonstration of how siting solar on closed landfills transforms a serious problem into a tremendous opportunity.
More recently, Inovateus was awarded the EPC contract to build a 28 MW solar array on over 230 acres at the historic Cincinnati Zoo in Lebanon, Ohio. The solar will be paired with battery storage to form a microgrid, taking the zoo beyond net zero energy. The project, which will implement sheep grazing to maintain the land and improve soil health, supports our strategic objective of helping cities and universities transition to sustainable energy.
Sustainability leadership
Our continuing sustainability leadership was recognized in April, when Indiana University named Inovateus Vice President of Sustainability Tyler Kanczuzewski a Hoosier Resilience Hero for his contributions to the environment. ABC57 in South Bend, Indiana featured Tyler and Inovateus in their Earth Day report, shining a light on our stewardship and sustainability work.
This year’s sustainability report showcased our 2021 achievements, which we continued building on in 2022. Sustainability highlights from the report included planting over 90 acres of pollinator habitat, obtaining Green Purchasing Procurement Certification, and achieving zero construction waste for half of our projects. We also signed the Climate Neutral Now Initiative pledge created by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to commit to achieving net-zero GHG emissions by 2050.
Inovateus was recognized this year for our previous work on the solar carports at Michigan State University, which have won state and national awards. The project not only supports the university’s sustainability goals but also provides an example of dual-use solar, which adds to its sustainability benefits by helping to preserve land.
Educational focus
One of the pillars of our sustainability mission is to provide thought leadership and promote sustainability in our communities through education.
When Inovateus originally committed to becoming a leader in sustainable solar development, we recognized that the usual definitions for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) weren’t a great fit for the solar industry, which touches construction, product procurement, waste, land preservation, and more. So, we developed our own framework, and our blog series “Six Best Practices to Sustainable Solar Development” provides a deep dive into each area. In 2022, we continued the series with posts on Construction, Vegetation Management, O&M and Decommissioning, and Community Engagement and Education. Other blog posts this year covered ESG, Solar Green Zones, and Solar and Storage Incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act.
Our webinars this year started with Waste Not, Want Not, in which Emilie O’Leary, CEO of Green Clean Solar, educated attendees about an often-neglected issue, utility solar project construction waste. Based on the webinar, Emilie and Tyler wrote an article for Solar Builder that details best practices for reducing this waste, showing how we can make a big difference with some simple actions.
Our webinar on Future Focused Investing, with our new partner Galway, illustrated how to ensure that sustainable investments do not negatively impact land, water, air quality, climate emissions, energy use, equity, and health. The webinar highlighted how well Galway’s ecosystems thinking aligns with the Inovateus best practices for sustainable solar development.
For our webinar on Solar Energy and Pollinator Benefits for Solar Projects, we teamed up with Peter Berthelsen, and The Bee and Butterfly Habitat Fund team. Solar pollinator projects are becoming more popular because of their many benefits for solar installations, agriculture, and the environment, but it’s not as simple as scattering just any seeds. Tyler and Pete followed up the webinar with an article for PV magazine that covered the many benefits of incorporating pollinators with solar projects, plus best practices for avoiding common mistakes.
Looking ahead to 2023
After many ups and downs for the solar industry in 2022, we closed out the year on a high note. With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the solar industry is better positioned than ever to grow. Inovateus Solar is ready to support that growth in 2023 with projects across the U.S. We wish you a happy holiday season and invite you to join us in building a brilliant tomorrow.
