Published: August 25, 2010
Premier Power & REgeneration Finance Develop 3.0 MW of Solar Projects for Douglas County Schools
EL DORADO HILLS, Calif. & HARRISON, N.Y. & CASTLE ROCK, Colo. - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Premier
Power Renewable Energy, Inc. (OTCBB:PPRW),
a global leader in the development, design, engineering, and
construction of solar power systems for commercial, government, and
utility markets in the United States and Europe, REgeneration
Finance, LLC, an experienced solar developer and financier that
works with school districts, universities, municipalities, and commercial
businesses throughout the United States, and the Douglas
County School District, Colorado's third largest school district
serving over 56,000 students and whose vision is to "create responsible
citizens who contribute to society," announced today the development of
more than 3.0 megawatts (MW) of solar electric power generating projects
at 31 different sites - 30 schools and one athletic stadium - in Douglas
County, Colorado.
To facilitate project development, the school district has entered into
a Power Purchase Agreement with REgeneration Finance who will own and
finance the solar electric generating projects to be designed,
constructed, operated, and maintained by Premier Power.
A Power Purchase Agreement, or PPA, is an agreement in which the school
district pays for the power produced by the solar system at a
pre-determined rate, a price well below what is charged by their
utility, over the life of the agreement while a third-party owns,
operates, and maintains the solar system. The school district receives a
stable source of predictable, lower cost electricity while in return the
third-party obtains financial benefits such as tax credits and income
generated from the sale of electricity to the customer.
"We are extremely proud of our partnership with Premier Power and
REgeneration Finance," said John Carson, president, Douglas County
School District Board of Education. "This project will enable us to save
thousands of dollars a year in electrical expenses, while also reducing
our environmental impact at no capital and operational cost to the
school district."
The Douglas County School District issued a Request for Proposal (RFP)
on April 15, 2010, resulting in eleven (11) competitive proposals.
Following the release of the RFP, pre-bid conferences were held in
conjunction with site visits at all 31 locations that are to receive
these photovoltaic (PV), or solar electric generating, systems. The
District reviewed all proposals and narrowed selection to three
companies based on their experience, ability to complete the project and
certainty of financial terms presented.
These candidates were asked additional questions to clarify their
proposals, and the top two were then invited to participate in a more
extensive interview process with District personnel. Once interviews
were complete it was clear the proposal submitted by Premier Power and
REgeneration Finance offered the District the combination of unmatched
expertise to engineer, build, and complete this project in a timely
manner, coupled with the most competitive and creative financial terms
available to the fiscally responsible school district.
"We thank the Douglas County School District and its Board of Education
for selecting Premier Power to bring clean, environmentally safe and
sustainable solar electricity to its schools, its students and the
families it serves," said Dean R. Marks, chief executive officer of
Premier Power Renewable Energy. "Well experienced from having built
large-scale generating facilities in the U.S. and abroad, we are pleased
to build one of the largest solar electric projects ever in Colorado
which will also employ Douglas County workers, pumping dollars back into
the local economy. We appreciate being entrusted to support two of
Douglas County's most valuable assets, its children and their schools,
and welcome the opportunity to continue working with REgeneration
Finance on similar projects," he concluded.
"REgeneration Finance, along with Douglas County School District
officials, worked hard to find a creative financial solution to develop
these important solar projects," said Laurance Friedman, chief executive
officer of REgeneration Finance. "We are very pleased to have the
opportunity to work with the educational community to promote
environmental responsibility while at the same time providing long-term
energy cost savings. We look forward to continuing to work with Premier
Power and the school district in developing this and other future
projects."
Xcel Energy (NYSE:XEL), the utility serving the District, believes this
initiative is one of the five largest solar electric projects ever built
in the State of Colorado. Each of the 30 schools will use roof mounted
solar panels to produce between 40 kilowatts (kW) and 104 kW of
electricity per site, while the athletic stadium will produce 90 kW of
electricity from a carport shade structure, believed to be the first of
its kind in Colorado.
The project will be built at a cost of $18.3 million at no capital,
operational, maintenance, insurance, financing, or ownership expense to
Douglas County School District taxpayers. It is estimated this project
can save the District $5.5 million over a 25 year period. The amount of
power to be produced by the 31 District sites will total more than
3.0 MW. Installation will take approximately nine months to complete.
REgeneration Finance is pleased to be working with Seminole
Financial Services, LLC of Belleair Bluffs, FL, provider of
construction financing on this transaction.
About Douglas County Public Schools
Douglas County School District maintains its position as a leader in
public education in Colorado, with many innovative programs and
educational approaches. Support and coordination can be found at the
District level, but each school has the flexibility to build its own
instructional programs. Parents can find many different choices through
the District such as open enrollment, charter schools, instruction for
gifted and talented students, magnet schools, an International
Baccalaureate program, Advanced Placement courses and other special
programs. Its vision is to "create responsible citizens who contribute
to society." The District strives to maintain a well-researched,
integrated and standards-based curriculum, a rich array of
extracurricular offerings and strong community involvement.
About REgeneration Finance
REgeneration Finance is an experienced developer of solar energy
systems, providing solar power to municipal, commercial and non-profit
entities. Through a financial structure that fully utilizes various
federal and state benefits, REgeneration Finance allows its clients to
receive all the financial and social benefits of renewable energy,
including lowering their cost of electricity and reducing their carbon
footprint, with no initial capital investment. Its customers typically
receive substantial savings over what they would have otherwise paid to
their respective utilities. REgeneration Finance is a full service
financing partner, capable of providing its projects with construction
and term debt, tax equity and equipment procurement.
About Premier Power
Premier Power Renewable Energy, Inc. is a leading global provider of
large and small-scale solar power systems, delivering unmatched
experience to commercial, governmental and residential customers
throughout North America and Europe. Premier Power designs, engineers
and integrates the solar industry's leading products. Premier Power's
technologies and services have enabled its customers to maximize clean
energy output along with project savings. Today, Premier Power designs
and deploys the most innovative solar electric systems through
market-leading innovation and exceptional customer service. Premier
Power is headquartered in El Dorado Hills, CA and has common stock
quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol PPRW.OB.
Additional information is available at the Company's website at www.premierpower.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains certain "forward-looking statements" relating to
the business of Premier Power Renewable Energy, Inc. ("Premier" ), which
can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as
"believes," "expects" or similar expressions. Such forward-looking
statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including
all business uncertainties relating to reliance on a limited number of
customers, market demand, cyclical nature of our markets, reliance on
key personnel, future capital requirements, competition in general and
other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different
from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated or
expected. Certain of these risks and uncertainties are or will be
described in greater detail in our filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements are based on
Premier's current expectations and beliefs concerning future
developments and their potential effects on the company. There can be no
assurance that future developments affecting Premier will be those
anticipated by Premier. These forward-looking statements involve a
number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond the control of
the Company) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or
performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied
by such forward-looking statements. Premier undertakes no obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be
required under applicable securities laws.

Premier Power
Bill Powell, 916-939-0400 x115
Director
of Investor Relations
ir @premierpower.com
or
REgeneration
Finance
Nick Addivinola, 914-777-2224
Vice President of
Finance
nick @regenerationfinance.com
or
Douglas
County School District
Susan Meek, 303-387-0030
Director
of Communications
susan.meek @dcsdk12.org
or
Douglas
County School District
Michelle Tripp, 303-387-0031
Communications
Specialist
michelle.tripp @dcsdk12.org
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