Crestline, Ohio

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The Village of Crestline in Crawford County, Ohio had been attempting to secure the funding for a new Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), as legally required by the Federal & Ohio EPA, since 2011.

 

In the summer of 2020, the Village of Crestline began working with REC Infrastructure Fund and Solar PPA Fund to structure a series of transactions that would allow the Village to finance the $20 million infrastructure investment without any new taxes on the residents or imposing any new fees for water or sewer.

 

REC created a unique debt financing structure that removed the WWTP debt service burden from the residents, businesses and schools located in the Crestline area and transferred the obligation to a special assessment district.

 

The solar project is expected to generate over $500,000 per year of new long term contracted revenue that will enable the Village to pay for the new WWTP.

 

• February 6, 2023, Crestline Village Council approved an agreement with Ohio Solar to place a special tax assessment on 165 acres of land and on which they plan to develop a utility scale solar field. The $3,200 per acre annual tax is expected to generate $528,000 per year, which will be used to pay off the OEPA loan. The special assessment will be on real estate controlled Solar PPA for the multiple utility scale solar projects, to be built throughout the Crawford County, Ohio.

 

• 2. February 27, 2023, The Village of Crestline announced today that the Ohio Water Development Authority (OWDA) has funded a Water Pollution Control Loan. The loan was approved by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) to rebuild of their existing Waste Water Treatment Plant.

 

• September 10, 2023, The Village of Crestline announced the groundbreaking for the new WWTP.

 

• March 15, 2024 –The Village of Crestline’s Wastewater Treatment Plant project received the Community Development Award from Crawford County Partnership Economic Development for their new wastewater treatment plant financed by an EPA loan and a utility scale solar project.

 

Alex Lemus, CEO of REC and Solar PPA Fund, was pleased with the news of the Crestline solar project receiving the Community Development Award for 2023. “We have been working with the Village of Crestline officials for three years to structure and fund this transaction. We are very excited about the long-term financial and economic development impact this investment will have on the Village of Crestline and Crawford County.

 

Solar PPA, over several years was able to secure site control for all of the land needed to build up to an estimated 100MW of solar PV generation to fund this infrastructure project for Crestline.

 

The WWTP financing is another successful example of how REC uses renewable energy to fund infrastructure projects for municipal clients. REC offers clients customized one-off financing structure and terms for each municipal infrastructure project.