Our first acquisition in Rhode Island is a portfolio of 10 operating projects ranging in size from 250 kW to 5.4 MW. These projects provide energy to local off-takers, including a community school, the YMCA, and a local university. One site is located on the property of WDCHOC, a local affordable housing authority that develops, constructs, and manages housing for low- and moderate-income families, the elderly, and persons with disabilities.
This Rhode Island portfolio, comprising both net-metered assets and Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) operating projects, demonstrated our ability to structure an acquisition to meet the seller’s needs. FiTs are an important component to our investment strategy, as they support the development of renewable energy sources by providing a guaranteed, above-market price for producers, and usually involve long-term contracts. This solar portfolio is a part of the latticework of renewable energy projects needed to help Rhode Island meet its 100% Renewable Energy Standard goal by 2033.
In 2021, we announced that CleanCapital would finance the construction of ten projects totaling 29 MW in Howard County, Maryland, as part of the largest power purchase agreement (PPA) in the state.
The Howard County PPA is part of the municipal government’s larger Live Green Howard initiative. When all the sites are operational, they will provide at least 60 percent of the County government’s electricity usage, with a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions equivalent of taking nearly 7,000 cars off the road. The combined anticipated cost benefit to the County over the 25-year life of the contract is more than $1.5 million.
In 2022, CleanCapital secured $71.4 million of tax equity and debt financing for the Howard County portfolio. The debt financing was arranged with CIT, a division of First Citizens Bank, and the tax equity transaction was with Nelnet, Inc. CleanCapital will generate approximately $250 million in tax credits from these projects, making us the sponsor of choice for tax equity investors focused on the renewables market.