Sol Customer Solutions to fund US renewable energy projects

Sol Customer Solutions, a joint venture involving Sol Systems and private asset management firm Capital Dynamics, has secured financing for a 24-strong pipeline of projects across the US after receiving a Distributed Generation Tax Equity commitment from Bank of America.

The first tranche funding under the Tax Equity Commitment occurred in July seeded the first twenty projects totaling approximately 30 megawatts (MWdc), which included the Amazon ACY2, a 5.5 MWdc rooftop solar project on the Amazon fulfillment center located in New Jersey; Altamont, a 645 kWdc ground-mount solar project in Illinois, supplying power to the City of Altamont through a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Illinois Municipal Electric Agency (IMEA); and the 20.7 MWdc Walmart Portfolio, which consists of seventeen rooftop and ground mount projects that supply power to Walmart Supercenter and distribution centres across Illinois. 

The second tranche occurred in September and seeded an additional four projects, comprising Rock Falls, a 1.3 MWdc ground-mount solar project in Illinois, and three additional Walmart projects in California.

Tim Short, Managing Director, Clean Energy Infrastructure at Capital Dynamics in New York, said distributed generation is a cornerstone of its investment strategy. "Together with Sol Customer Solutions, we are able to deliver the highest quality portfolios of contracted, distributed solar and storage assets, offering our investors access to a differentiated set of opportunities in this critical part of the US energy transition," he said. 

The key to scaling distributed generation is building a platform that combines competitive capital with proven expertise and laser focus on the customer, added Andrew Gilligan, Sol Customer Solutions' Vice President. "The muscle behind this partnership with Capital Dynamics, together with Bank of America through the Tax Equity Commitment, means we can offer customers unmatched end-to-end service."

Sol Customer Solutions celebrated its first successful project completion with Capital Dynamics earlier this year with the commissioning of Scottsbluff, a 5.2 MWdc ground-mount solar project in Nebraska.  Scottsbluff is supplying power to the City of Scottsbluff through a PPA with Nebraska Public Power District.