Altus Power acquires five solar farms from Beltline Energy
Altus Power America has completed the acquisition of a 4MW operating solar portfolio from Beltline Energy, comprising four single-axis tracker and one fixed-tilt facility.
The projects sell clean, renewable energy to Georgia Power, while generating approximately 6.5 million KW hours of electricity annually, enough to power 540 homes.
"This acquisition demonstrates Altus Power's ability to structure a complex transaction to optimise Beltline's objectives. The acquisition of the Beltline assets, together with the strategic acquisition of a significant number of C&I-scale operating solar assets over the past 18 months, solidifies Altus Power's position as a competitive buyer of solar assets throughout the United States. In addition to the acquisition of operating projects, Altus Power continues to develop C&I-scale solar assets across the country," says Sean Rheuben, Managing Director of Altus Power.
Based in Greenwich, Connecticut, Altus Power is a solar power company that provides clean electricity to commercial, industrial and municipal clients across the US. Since it’s founding in 2009, Altus has developed or acquired more than 150 distributed generation solar facilities totalling in excess of 200 megawatts from Vermont to Hawaii.
"Altus Power was a great partner in this transaction and demonstrated a strong understanding of the complexities of renewable energy financing along with knowledge in solar operations. Beltline has developed multiple portfolios with numerous groups over the years, and Altus Power stands out in its expertise, along with its adherence to being a reasonable and reliable counterparty.
“Beltline continues as a leader in developing solar portfolios in the Southeast and we look forward to more transactions with Altus Power," says Stephen Elkind, Managing Partner of Beltline Energy.
Earlier this year, the company teamed up with Blackstone, through its GSO Capital Partners and Blackstone Insurance Solutions groups, to lead a recapitalisation with £657 million of funded and committed capital to refinance the existing capital structure and fund future development.
The recapitalisation consists of preferred and minority equity and investment grade-rated debt financing provided by GSO and a BIS-led consortium, respectively, and a construction-to-term loan facility from a syndicate of commercial banks, providing Altus Power with sufficient capital to grow its portfolio to over £774 million worth of commercial and industrial solar assets.
The company says that it is experiencing significant growth in demand from its private and public clients for locally sited solar arrays – in many instances, in combination with battery storage – that are capable of producing energy savings for off-takers creating rent payments for real estate owners, and helping its clients meet corporate sustainability goals.
