Community Solar

Renewable Properties closes $53.5M financing for community solar portfolio

Renewable Properties closes $53.5M financing for community solar portfolio
A Renewable Properties 2 MW CCA installation in Napa, CA deployed at the end of 2020. (Courtesy: Renewable Properties)

Renewable Properties, a developer and investor in small-scale utility and community solar projects, has closed its Fund 9 portfolio. The Fund 9 closing expands Renewable Properties’ relationships with tax equity investor SOLCAP and project lending partners 1st Source Bank and West Town Bank & Trust.

Fund 9 includes five projects in Maine, North Carolina, and California. Totaling close to 22 MW, the solar projects are expected to produce enough energy to power 3,111 homes per year.

GO DEEPER: Renewable Properties founder and president Aaron Halimi joined Episode 33 of the Factor This! podcast to discuss the future of community solar in California which, to date, has lagged behind other markets, despite the state’s role as a leader of the energy transition. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

“Dependable financing relationships are key for expanding Renewable Properties’ pipeline of community solar and small-scale utility projects,” said Allan Riska, Chief Investment Officer at Renewable Properties. “Our ongoing partnerships with SOLCAP, 1st Source, and West Town are enabling us to bring solar’s clean energy benefits to America’s rural areas. We look forward to continuing to work with them to deploy community solar projects across the U.S.”

SOLCAP, a joint venture of KeyState Renewables and Corner Power, has been a tax equity resource for Renewable Properties since 2021. Including Fund 9’s 22 MW portfolio, SOLCAP has invested in three tax equity funds, supporting the construction and acquisition of 65.3 MW of Renewable Properties’ community solar and small-scale utility projects in five states.

Renewable Properties’ Fund 9 is the second portfolio supported by 1st Source. Since last year, the bank has provided construction and permanent loans for 21.6 MW of Renewable Properties’ solar projects. The closing of Fund 9 will support Renewable Properties’ acquisition of three Maine community solar projects, totaling 11.6 MW. Now under construction, the three solar arrays are scheduled to be completed by the first quarter of 2024.

West Town has also been a steadfast Renewable Properties fund investor. Since 2019, West Town has participated in three Renewable Properties’ portfolio financings, providing construction and permanent loans for 38.5 MW of projects, including Fund 9.

West Town’s investment in Fund 9 will finance a 6.62 MW solar project in Gibson, North Carolina, which will be completed in the last quarter of 2023. In addition, West Town will partner on a 4.2 MW community solar project in El Nido, California, which will be completed in May 2024.