Clean energy asset owners like CleanCapital acquire projects with two main goals: producing high returns and to help lead the clean energy transition. But what many don’t fully consider is what comes after the deal has closed and assets need sustained attention.  Ensuring operations and maintenance (O&M) and asset management is part of the investment thesis is key to the long-term success of any solar and battery storage portfolio. Neglecting this line item in the model or failing to think strategically about the maintenance plan over the life of the assets can crush returns and diminish investor trust. That’s why engaging the right O&M partnership from the outset matters.  

At CleanCapital, we understand the ins and outs of asset management. We pride ourselves on the relationships we build and maintain along with the projects we manage. We have an incredibly diversified portfolio of solar sites: ground-mounted, rooftop, and carport assets ranging from the tiny—10 kW church rooftops— to the substantial—36MW utility-scale sites—to which we add projects as often as every few weeks. Our asset management team currently oversees 153 operating projects totaling 250 MW spanning 20 states and the US territory of Guam, with a development pipeline over 1 GW, and 60 MW under construction expected to come online in the next few months. With this wide-ranging portfolio comes opportunity and challenges. In order to be the best possible partner to O&M providers we have implemented a few best practices over the years.  

We have a dedicated team of Technical Asset Managers (TAMs) with varied backgrounds in O&M and engineering, procurement & construction (EPC). Each portfolio is assigned to a TAM so our O&M providers have a single point of contact with a thorough understanding of each site within that portfolio. The TAMs work collaboratively with the O&M providers to brainstorm and work through more complex issues. This leads to a much quicker turnaround on necessary approvals to keep work moving on site.  

In addition, we’ve built out a centralized spare parts inventory program where all of our O&M providers are able to source replacement components to cut down on lead times, and therefore reduce downtime of the site. Better performance means time is freed up to focus on other issues for both parties.  

Lastly, CleanCapital is constantly looking to technology to evolve and improve processes and create efficiencies in our workflows. We want to integrate into our O&M providers software wherever possible so monitoring, ticketing and reporting can be made even more seamless.  

Since its founding, CleanCapital has invested more than $1 billion in projects and companies. Our team of experts is focused on the total life cycle of each asset to increase energy production and returns in the most sustainable way. We have a strong team that has led CleanCapital to be recognized as one of the top ten commercial solar asset owners in the U.S.  

As we look to the future, our team is excited to continue our momentum with our growing pipeline. After securing our latest—and largest—round of capital in June we are looking forward to putting even more capital to work developing, constructing, and acquiring high-quality solar and storage assets and optimizing performance over the life of those assets. 

CleanCapital is always looking to grow our existing O&M partnerships and build new connections across the industry. We are consistently in the market for solar and storage acquisitions, and our team of asset management experts are ready to turn even the most distressed asset into an high ROI-producing golden child.