When Clearway spun out as a standalone company in the fall of 2018, we got the rewarding opportunity to write the vision, mission, and values statements that would define who we would aim to be. For those of us involved in crafting them, writing these statements took on great meaning \u2013 even amidst the numerous critical requirements that had to be fulfilled for our spin-out to occur.<\/p>\n
Even while many of us had been doing the work of the company that became Clearway for years\u2026and had already built up the assets and capabilities that embodied the company on what would be its first day\u2026we felt like we were getting the chance to state the purpose we\u2019d had in our work clearly and completely \u2013 for the first time.<\/p>\n
So when we got to do that, this is how we described our purpose: We envisioned a world powered by clean energy and would strive to be one of the most impactful companies who make it happen.<\/p>\n
Today, as we celebrate our fifth anniversary, we\u2019re humbled by the progress we\u2019ve made as a company \u2013 and as an industry \u2013 in fulfilling that vision. Yet much of that success is also thanks to others \u2013 many of you \u2013 who have driven that momentum:<\/p>\n
Ranging from household name brands and utilities to small businesses and co-ops, a whole broad spectrum of America\u2019s energy buyers have contracted with Clearway projects to achieve clean energy objectives and receive reliable, low-cost power. Together, our customers offset 9 million metric tonnes of CO2 each year through their agreements with our projects.<\/p>\n
Numbering in thousands, the landowners and communities who host our projects provide perhaps the most invaluable contribution of all to our efforts by being at the center of the energy transition. We are proud to say we lease over one million acres in nearly 100 host counties, generating lease income for families and farms alike. And we\u2019re also proud that we support those counties and their public services through the nearly $60 million in new annual tax revenue our projects provide to local hospitals, schools, and services.<\/p>\n
Construction firms, equipment manufacturers, and a large family of specialty businesses have continually adapted with us in dynamic market circumstances and yet have found a way to help us build projects across the country and implement new technology. With these partners, we made over $2.3 billion of capital investments last year through local businesses and are proud to be partnering with our equipment suppliers to increase their U.S. manufacturing presence in the years ahead.<\/p>\n
The banks and institutional lenders that value both strong relationships and sound investments in a competitive asset class and who have helped us raise over $5 billion in the last 12 months alone to fuel our growth \u2013 nearly four times more than we raised in our first year as Clearway. These supporters see Clearway as a stand-out sponsor and operator of projects in our industry and are rewarding our dedication with more fuel for growth.<\/p>\n
Our team of employees at Clearway, once measured in the hundreds at the time of our emergence, is now pushing towards 1,000 strong. They have taken our operating portfolio from 7.2 GW in 2018 to nearly 10 GW today; they have grown our nationwide pipeline of planned projects to nearly 30 GW; they have introduced new technologies like battery storage into our core business today; and they will drive the further adoption of emerging energy technologies at scale in the years ahead. They bring to their work diverse areas of functional expertise and hard-earned experience across many technologies in more than 37 states.<\/p>\n
What they have in common \u2013 and is the core engine driving our success \u2013 is a shared sense of purpose and a drive to solve hard problems. They use many words to describe what they hold in common but a favorite I\u2019ve heard is a shared mindset that responds to challenges with these words: \u201cWe can solve this.\u201d And while there are so many things that make me proud of Clearway\u2019s people and what they\u2019ve built, the fact that this is a hallmark of ours is the thing of which I\u2019m most proud. More than anything else, this mindset is what allowed us to build what we have so far, and it will enable our growth in the years ahead. It is the engine inside the engine we are.<\/p>\n
That mindset is also crucial for the broader renewable industry.<\/p>\n
While federal legislation has supercharged progress on domestic jobs, local investments, and is delivering affordable power, we now need to make those things tangible in the communities that stand to gain from our growth. Our industry will need to deliver benefits that become irrevocable features of American life in those communities. Our industry will have to pioneer a way to build at higher throughput than it ever has, overcoming more obstacles than it ever has, with more capital and more equipment than it\u2019s ever needed.<\/p>\n
Our industry will also need to work with regulators across multiple jurisdictions to solve our country\u2019s problem of an aging grid and arcane permitting rules. Our industry will need to drive engagement from regulators to enable the build-out of modern transmission infrastructure to move power and reasonable timelines to develop. And our industry will need to work with policymakers and financial markets to preserve the policies that underpin investments and to expand the availability of financial products needed to fund all its construction.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re committed to helping resolve these challenges as we build our own business, and we welcome everyone with a stake in a clean energy future to do the same.<\/p>\n
For many of us, our stake in that future is the next generation. So earlier this year, we invited some of the kids of our colleagues to tell us \u2013 in their own words \u2013 about who Clearway is, what their parents do, and what they think about the clean energy we make. You\u2019ll see what they had to say at the link below.<\/p>\n
For me, these kids are the \u201cwhy\u201d behind our vision of a world powered by clean energy. We are grateful as they cheer us on. We do what we do to make the world they\u2019ll live in better. And we are proud of all that we did in these first five years as Clearway so that it will be.<\/p>\n
Onward,<\/p>\n
Craig Cornelius <\/strong>
\nChief Executive Officer<\/em><\/p>\n