A third start-up company has joined Davidson’s “green” business incubator, the Project for Innovation, Energy and Sustainability, on South Main Street. Sustainable Energy Community Development Corp. (SECDC) has two employees and provides financing for solar and other sustainable energy installations in rural and low-income communities around the state.

SECDC is the third company to be accepted as a full resident member of the incubator, known as PiES. Earlier this summer, solar energy equipment maker Focal Point Energy and electric vehicle technology firm ElectraDrive became the incubator’s first tenants.

All start-ups accepted into PiES get technical and business advice, as well as office space in the Business Center @ South Main Square, 442 S. Main St. PiES was formed in January to nurture green businesses here in Davidson. It’s a public-private partnership that includes the Business Center, the Town of Davidson, and other academic and industry partners.

GOAL: JUMP-STARTING ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

SECDC was formed earlier this year by a group of Charlotte lawyers who wondered why existing tax-incentive programs were not leading to alternative-energy projects.

Shawn LeMond

Its vice president and chief operating officer is Shawn LeMond, a Davidson resident who once served as a state legislator and mayor of Matthews. He helped SECDC develop its unique approach to financing green energy projects: by bundling New Market Tax Credits with federal and state renewable energy tax credits. The goal is to spur development of renewable energy installations in the state’s rural and low income areas. Mr. LeMond also said projects would be built by North Carolina companies using North Carolina materials.

SECDC is working on its first project, a $7 million solar energy facility in Plymouth, in Washington County. That eastern North Carolina community is an area with a 37 percent poverty rate. The solar installation would provide recurring income for the local government.

“At the end of seven years, SECDC purchases the project from (investors), then donates it to the local government,” Mr. LeMond said. The local government makes money by selling the energy produced onto the electric power grid, he said. In many cases, as in Plymouth, these local governments in poor areas need ongoing revenue sources to pay for water systems, schools and other local services.

The new financing model – bundling several tax credits – is designed to attract investments from corporations looking to offset North Carolina tax liabilities. He said it should offer returns of better than 12 percent, with low risk. He said SECDC is currently recruiting investors for its first project.

SECDC currently has just two employees, but says it hopes to grow to 8 to 15 employees by the end of 2011, including sales/marketing and project managers.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

More information about PiES is at www.pies-northcarolina.org

More information about SECDC is at www.secdc.biz/ The company is at 442 S. Main St., Suite 3, in Davidson.

RELATED COVERAGE

Aug. 2, 2010, “2 companies moving into green business incubator.”

See all previous coverage of the incubator program under the tag “PIES”