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Cities and campuses

Cities and campuses have complex, large-scale needs across resource categories, from energy to water and waste management to transport. Generate is the only one-stop shop that integrates innovative resource solutions that meet all those needs without requiring you to make an up-front investment or manage the assets yourself. We take the risks for you—and you just save money.

Whether you need to meet sustainability targets or simply procure the most reliable, sustainable, resilient energy and resource solutions on a tight budget, Generate has the solution.

Success Stories

New York City’s Hudson Portfolio

Challenge:

New York City has been trying to kick off a solar program since 2007. The City has been wrestling with a host of competing interests, including those of labor unions and school principals, as well as challenges associated with aggressive sustainability goals, a lack of local solar experts, and so forth. Finding a firm to take on the endeavor of delivering on the City’s commitment to deploy 100 MW of solar projects within the five boroughs by 2025—and all the associated uncertainty—was a huge challenge. Generate stepped in to help.

Solution:

Generate is in a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) contract with the City as counterparty to install and operate the City’s largest rooftop deployment (more than 19 MW) of solar energy systems on 88 city-owned buildings within the five boroughs. This portfolio is the first phase in the City’s 100 MW goal. Like with all solar PPAs, the City will enjoy stable and predictable energy costs from Generate’s systems for the next 20 years, being produced from the cleanest energy source possible: solar photovoltaics.

Result:

Generate’s work not only enabled the City to achieve its solar deployment goals, it acted as the City’s true partner by bringing a huge amount of creativity to use the existing unionized labor force as much as possible—even though it was not contractually required. Generate has evaluated more than 20 local contractors and awarded the largest number of rooftop solar projects ever in NYC, providing valuable training and experience to local contractors. In addition, given that the majority of the facilities are located on public school buildings, the New York Department of Education will be developing educational curricula for the city’s public school students. Generate’s ability to successfully work with multiple stakeholders and create processes to control costs paved the way for other public agencies, such as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and New York City Housing Authority, to pursue solar projects more vigorously.

Hillsborough County Public Schools

Challenge:

As the eighth-largest school district in the United States, with 212,000 students and more than 27 million square feet of buildings, the Hillsborough County Public School District in Florida was looking to decarbonize its energy system while saving money. Crucially, the District didn’t want to take on more debt while doing it. The project included a unique set of requirements that necessitated a custom contract that had never been financed before.

Solution:

Generate created a new structure that met all the crucial requirements. Generate was also able to eliminate the traditional 27% markup on the work of local subcontractors by being the investor and securing high-quality contraction management by Skanska, one of the largest construction companies in the world. The result was a partnership that allowed the District to avoid sacrifices and risks—just by allowing Generate to displace the local utility for more efficient, smarter, and better infrastructure. As of the end of 2019, Generate had done $60 million worth of work (mostly LED lighting), with future work of $100 million intended for energy management, high-efficiency heating and cooling, solar projects, and more—with the ultimate goal of getting to net-zero energy.

Result:

Generate provided the District with equipment and services at cost plus construction management expenses—roughly 25% cheaper than a traditional energy service company charges. Generate also structured the financing so it is not viewed negatively by credit agencies, protecting the District’s credit rating. And Generate provided more transparency in cost, allowing the District co-development rights—a unique arrangement that treats the District as a true partner.