EarthEra Trust Amasses $18M for Renewable Energy Projects

“I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth.”

You might recognize the opening line of “Substitute” by The Who. There’s no substitute for having money when it comes to pushing wind and solar development in the United States.

The concept of replacing fossil fuels with “free” alternative energy from the breeze and sun is great, but without money, it’s just a dream.

Here comes the silver spoon, a trust fund called EarthEra Renewable Energy Trust. It’s like having a rich dad.

The fund, run by NextEra Energy Resources, the largest wind and solar energy producer in the U.S., invests proceeds from renewable energy purchases by businesses and consumers into the construction of new wind and solar projects in the U.S.

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So far, the trust has amassed $18 million from various corporate purchasers of renewable energy credits, including Sony, Office Depot and the University of Denver.

Speaking of Colorado, the first project to receive funding is the Northern Colorado Wind Facility in Logan County.

The new facility is expected to add up to 152 megawatts of capacity to the grid, adding to about 400 megawatts at the Peetz Table site, and be online by the end of 2009.

The award total apparently hasn’t been disclosed. But NextEra has signed a 25-year contract with Xcel Energy Inc. to build the big blades, and will be paid about $27 million in the first year of generation, reports the Denver Business Journal.

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