Samy and Lenny, the company’s cofounders, considered a range of clean tech sectors, including solar, wind, water and waste to energy. A key theme was to explore how Israeli technologies in these fields could be integrated into the company’s business development. Ultimately, Yarotek was launched with an initial focus on solar power in Puerto Rico.

After over six months of getting acquainted with the Puerto Rico electric power authority, Yarotek signed its first power purchasing agreement (PPA) for 50 MW.  Yarotek explored introducing concentrated solar power to the island in partnership with a leading Israeli enterprise before adopting photovoltaic as the preferred technology.  

Several months after securing its PPA, Yarotek entered into a strategic partnership with Sonnedix, a global solar independent power producer. Ultimately this relationship led to the development, construction and operation of two utility scale solar power plants (Oriana and Horizon) in Puerto Rico – additional Facilities Under Development

Over the course of 18 months, Yarotek analyzed several land possibilities around relevant interconnection points for it’s 50 MW project. Ultimately, we secured almost 300 cuerdas/acres suitable for the construction of a solar power plant. Moreover, the Oriana partnership purchased approximately 12 million of inverters to qualify for the 30% cash grant incentive.

Extensive permitting was completed to ensure that the designated land met all zoning, environmental and suitability requirements. 

Construction began on Horizon, the 15.5 MW facility within the Sonnedix-Yarotek joint venture as well as the 874 kW Ballester Hermanos refrigerated warehouse roof mount, Yarotek’s inaugural commercial/industrial solar plant.

Horizon is located in Salinas, Puerto Rico on 10 “cuerdas”, with a capacity of 10-megawatts AC (15.7 MWp) generated by over 167,000 thin-film solar panels grouped in ground-mounted fixed-tilt arrays. Ballester Hermanos is a distributed generator connected to the Utility grid under a Net-Metering Agreement with the client with capacity of 750 kWac (874.23 kWp) generated by 2,534 monocrystalline solar panels, located at the building rooftop – mounted on “ballast-mounted” fixed-tilt arrays.

CSIF Eenergy PV System (“CSIF”) is a distributed generator connected to the Utility grid under a Net-Metering Agreement with the client with capacity of 164 kWac (208.3 kWp), generated by 637 Sunpower monocrystalline solar panels, located at the building rooftop on fixed-tilt racking arrays.

Following the expiration of the cash grant for projects completed after 2016, Yaroetk negotiated a $10 million, multi-year facility with GAF, one of the country’s leading tax equity providers. GAF and Yarotek have already partnered on two commercial project, with several more in our pipeline. 

CSIF – Tabaiba and Caimito. 

1 Mgh of modules were purchased and grandfathered to enjoy full 30% investment tax credits for any projects in respect to which the panels would be deployed.

Becton Dickinson and Colegio de Ingenieros (first rapid-shutdown system).

After over a decade focusing nearly exclusively on Puerto Rico, Yarotek decided to invest additional human and other resources to expand its business to the continental United States.

As part of its foray into the continental US, Yarotek secures site control of 2,000+ acres for four projects totaling over 290 megawatts of capacity in Virginia and Ohio. Additionally, Yarotek obtained PJM Queue positions for each of the four projects and has initiated the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) process for all of them.