CleanCapital & CarVal Acquire 75 MW Solar Portfolio, Close on $300 mn Debt Facility

CleanCapital announced its largest acquisition, a 75.2-megawatt solar portfolio made up of 15 operating solar projects in New Jersey.

CleanCapital announced its largest acquisition to date, a 75.2-megawatt solar portfolio made up of 15 operating solar projects in New Jersey. This is the fourth in a series of acquisitions made through CleanCapital’s $250 million investment vehicle with CarVal Investors.

CleanCapital now owns and operates 180 MW of renewable energy assets and holds $465 million worth of assets under management.

Concurrent to this acquisition, CleanCapital and funds managed by CarVal Investors have closed on a $300 million debt warehouse facility with Credit Suisse. “The debt warehouse facility grants us access to a new type of financing, bolstering our overall capital capacity to acquire distributed solar and energy storage projects,” said Matt Eastwick, Chief Investment Officer at CleanCapital. “This seminal financing takes us a step closer to our long-term vision of securitisation, which is key to our mission to drive institutional investment in clean energy.”

The solar portfolio, dubbed “Olympic“, was acquired from KDC Solar. The 15 operating solar assets, which entered commercial operation between 2011 and 2016, average 5 MW and range in size from 157 kW to 10 MW.  Off takers for these projects include Fortune 100 companies as well as local governments and institutions.

“This acquisition, our largest to date, solidifies CleanCapital’s position as one of the leading owner-operators of C&I solar in the U.S.,” said Thomas Byrne, CEO of CleanCapital.

The acquisition was led by Melinda Baglio, Chief Commercial Officer and General Counsel at CleanCapital, who added, “This portfolio is a perfect illustration of how our technology gives us a competitive edge when it comes to conducting due diligence on sizeable and complex portfolios.”

“We’re proud to partner with CleanCapital, whose innovative approach to structuring these investments has made it, in our view, the clear industry leader in clean energy finance,” said Jerry Keefe, Principal at CarVal Investors. “With CleanCapital’s active approach to asset management, we believe renewable energy portfolios have strong potential as long-term investments. Our acquisitions in partnership with CleanCapital total more than 100 MW since May of last year, reflecting our confidence in these assets.”