Marathon Capital Announces the Successful Closing of Empower Energies’ DG Solar Fund

Marathon Capital is pleased to announce the successful closing of the Empower Energies, Inc. (“Empower” or the “Company”) Distributed Generation Fund (“DG Fund”) for commercial and industrial (“C&I”) photovoltaic solar projects originated and developed by Empower and its co-development partners.

Marathon Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor and evaluated a variety of tailored, structuring options in the process of successfully raising a substantial commitment of tax equity and cash equity financing for the DG Fund.

WGL Energy Systems, Inc. (“WGL Energy”), a Washington Gas Light company, has committed to provide construction financing and permanent sponsor equity for the portfolio of PV solar projects originated and/or acquired by Empower over the next two years. Tax equity financing will be provided by a major strategic investor.

The DG Fund enables Empower to offer a complete ‘capital stack’, including development capital, construction financing, and project buyouts at different points during the development process, depending on the needs of the co-developer. The DG Fund also creates efficiencies for C&I customers, simplifying the project approval process, and enabling a single decision point, thereby accelerating development.

“We are pleased to announce the launch of our DG Fund and our partnership with two leading strategic investors,” said John Clapp, Chief Financial Officer of Empower. “The DG Fund gives us immediate access to tax equity at a time when availability is an issue in the marketplace. In addition, we are able to provide construction financing and development capital for our own projects and those of other developers looking for a financing solution. The fund structure is well-suited to the distributed generation space. We can invest in projects in SREC and non-SREC markets, as well as across the credit spectrum.”

“Marathon Capital is pleased to have worked with the experienced Empower management team to structure and secure the capital necessary to fund the deployment of a sizeable and diversified C&I portfolio in the distributed solar space,” said Terry Grant, Managing Director at Marathon Capital. “Len Jornlin and his team bring many years of industry experience and contacts to lead this formative company.”