McKinleyville Selects Ameresco to Develop Community Microgrid and Battery Energy Storage System

Ameresco partners with California municipality to develop distributed energy system for financial benefits, grid resiliency and carbon emissions reductions

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. and McKinleyville, Calif. – March 11, 2020 – Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE: AMRC), a leading energy efficiency and renewable energy company, today announced that it has been selected by the McKinleyville Community Services District in California to design and build an integrated microgrid at the community’s Hiller Park wastewater treatment plant. The microgrid will incorporate existing diesel generation along with new solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery energy storage assets to optimize electrical grid resiliency while delivering both financial and environmental benefits to the community.

Located on the Pacific Coast in Northern California, McKinleyville is one of the fastest growing communities in the region. The McKinleyville Community Services District (MCSD) – which is responsible for delivering safe and reliable water, wastewater, parks and recreation services to the community’s 16,900 residents – selected Ameresco to plan, design, procure, install and commission a community microgrid at its wastewater treatment plant, based on the company’s extensive experience implementing these advanced energy technology solutions.

“As part of our community’s broader sustainability efforts, this project creates a pathway for our local wastewater treatment facility to reach net-zero emissions,” said MCSD Manager Greg Orsini. “By bringing new, clean energy sources on-site and adding battery storage, the facility will produce as much energy as it consumes and be better prepared to withstand potential utility outages in the future.”

The microgrid management system that Ameresco will install under its Energy Services Contract with MCSD will utilize existing dispatchable generation at the wastewater treatment plant to provide supplemental power and further grid resilience.

“Communities in Northern California have weathered some of the most extreme effects of climate change coupled with PG&E’s PSPS events, which makes energy resiliency projects such as this one so important,” said Mike Bakas, Ameresco Executive Vice President, “Integrated Microgrids have proven their value for the government, local communities and the private sector, and Ameresco has earned a leadership position in this space. With that, we will leverage the full breadth of our team’s experience in developing this system to the benefit of the citizens of McKinleyville.”

Construction of the McKinleyville microgrid is scheduled to begin in 2020. Once completed, Ameresco will continue to provide operations and maintenance to the system under a long-term agreement.

About McKinleyville Community Services District (MCSD)

The McKinleyville Community Services District is an independent special district established in 1970. Serving approximately 17,000 people, the District provides water, wastewater, parks and recreation, library, streetlights, and open space maintenance services to residents and businesses in the unincorporated area of McKinleyville. The District has 26 full time and 60 part time employees and its operating budget for fiscal year 19-20 is approximately 10 million in revenue.  Water service is provided to approximately 5,800 active connections and wastewater services are provided to approximately 4,900 active connections. District staff operate a state-of-the-art wastewater management facility (commissioned in late 2017) utilizing two extended aeration basins and secondary clarifiers.

Parks and Recreation programs, facilities, and trails are an integral part of the services offered by the District. The District owns and maintains three parks and many facilities, including the Teen and Community Center, Azalea Hall Event Center (also home to the McKinleyville Senior Center), Law Enforcement Facility and the McKinleyville Library. Located on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean with a backdrop of tree covered mountains, McKinleyville is the fastest growing unincorporated community in Northern California’s Humboldt County with a population of approximately 17,000. With a growing number of retail, professional services, community services and conveniences, the town is large enough to offer the amenities of a small urban area while maintaining a small-town charm and friendliness.

About Ameresco, Inc.

Founded in 2000, Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE:AMRC) is a leading independent provider of comprehensive services, energy efficiency, infrastructure upgrades, asset sustainability and renewable energy solutions for businesses and organizations throughout North America and Europe. Ameresco’s sustainability services include upgrades to a facility’s energy infrastructure and the development, construction and operation of renewable energy plants. Ameresco has successfully completed energy saving, environmentally responsible projects with Federal, state and local governments, healthcare and educational institutions, housing authorities, and commercial and industrial customers. With its corporate headquarters in Framingham, MA, Ameresco has more than 1,000 employees providing local expertise in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.ameresco.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. This project was included in our previously reported awarded backlog as of December 31, 2019.