The equipment financing company partners with solar installer Solect Energy Development and panel manufacturer ET Solar to provide the railroad company with a clean power solution

 SUPERIOR, Colo. – March 3, 2014 – Key Equipment Finance, one of the nation’s largest bank-held equipment finance companies and an affiliate of KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY), has provided solar financing for Providence and Worcester Railroad Company (P&W), a short-line freight railroad based in Worcester, Mass. The solar array will generate an estimated 190kW of electricity annually and is expected to yield significant electrical savings over the next 20 years of the solar array’s power production.

“Energy savings is an important strategy for Providence and Worcester Railroad as we invest in our business and prepare for our next forty years,” said Dan Noreck, P&W’s CFO. “Key Equipment Finance enabled us to quickly implement total solar financing for the entire cost of the solar array, allowing us to use those dollars for the infrastructure improvements that are so critical to our business.”

Key Equipment Finance provided 100 percent of the green energy financing with an operating lease to P&W for the solar photovoltaic (PV) system. The system was installed in December in P&W’s Worcester rail yard and adjoining properties.

“Providence and Worcester Railroad is a green-minded business that recognizes the cost-saving benefits of solar energy,” said Doug Beebe, vice president, energy finance, for Key Equipment Finance. “They are leasing the solar array to offset a portion of their increasingly high energy costs at their railroad yard.”

P&W is earning additional income from selling Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs) generated for each 1,000 kilowatt-hours of energy produced. SRECs are environmental attributes that the local utility must buy in order to meet the Massachusetts Renewable Portfolio Standard. Once the solar lease ends and the railroad company exercises the buyout, it can enjoy the benefits of the system for the remainder of the solar array’s 25- to 30-year life.

“As a full-service solar PV project developer, we help forward-thinking companies such as Providence and Worcester Railroad adopt total solar energy solutions,” said Craig Huntley, principal at Solect Energy Development. “By guiding our customers through assessment, design, construction and management of the solar PV renewable energy system, we are able to ensure they realize the full benefits of the solar array and the reduction in energy costs.”

Key Equipment Finance offers equipment financing and business leasing solutions to a range of business types and industries. Learn more at http://www.kefonline.com.

About Key Equipment Finance

Key Equipment Finance has been in the equipment finance business for 41 years and is one of the largest bank-based equipment finance providers in the U.S. The company provides tailored equipment lease and finance solutions for commercial clients and government entities. Through its manufacturer and vendor alliances unit, equipment finance programs are developed for manufacturers, distributors and resellers.

Key Equipment Finance’s specialty finance group includes a lease capital markets team to support corporations looking to optimize risk and revenue, and a lender finance team, which provides structured facilities to various sectors of the specialty finance market. Headquartered outside Denver, Colorado, Key Equipment Finance manages $9.1 billion in assets and originates $4.3 billion of equipment financing annually. For more information, visit http://www.keyequipmentfinance.com.

About KeyCorp

KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) was organized more than 160 years ago and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. One of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, Key had assets of approximately $92.9 billion on December 31, 2013. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management and investment services to individuals and small and mid-sized businesses in 14 states under the name KeyBank National Association. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com.

About Providence and Worcester Railroad Company

Providence and Worcester Railroad Company (P&W) is a short-line freight railroad operating in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York. P&W interchanges freight traffic with CSX Transportation at Worcester, MA and at New Haven, CT; with Pan Am Railways at Worcester, MA; with Pan Am Southern and Norfolk Southern Corporation at Gardner, MA; with the New England Central Railroad and Canadian Pacific Railway at Willimantic, CT; with the New York and Atlantic Railroad at Fresh Pond Junction (Queens), NY; with the Connecticut Southern Railroad at Hartford, CT; and with Canadian National Railway through a cooperative operating arrangement with the New England Central Railroad over the “Great Eastern Route” at East Alburg, VT.  P&W operates four classification yards in Worcester, MA, Cumberland, RI, and Plainfield and New Haven, CT.  The Worcester, MA and Plainfield, CT locations also house equipment maintenance facilities. P&W transports a wide variety of commodities for its approximately 140 customers, including automobiles, construction aggregates, iron and steel products, chemicals, lumber, scrap metals, plastic resins, cement, coal, ethanol, construction and demolition debris, processed foods and edible foodstuffs, such as frozen foods and corn syrup. By agreement with a private operator, P&W also serves an approved customs-bonded intermodal yard in Worcester, primarily for the movement of container traffic from the Far East destined for points in New England.  Several major container ship lines utilize double-stack train service through this terminal.  P&W works closely with the terminal operator to develop and maintain strong relationships with steamship lines involved in international intermodal transportation.  For more information, visit http://www.pwrr.com.

About Solect Energy Development

Solect Energy Development is a full-service solar photovoltaic (PV) project developer based in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, delivering smart solar solutions to help businesses and organizations reduce energy costs. As an industry leader in commercial solar energy, Solect takes a practical approach to the development, installation and on-going support of each system. Solect partners closely with its customers, providing strong financial insight and solar technology expertise to optimize their investment while creating a positive impact on the environment.  The company currently has installed 10.5 MW (megawatts) of commercial PV systems, with a primary focus on commercial, light industrial and institutional properties in New England. For more information, visit www.solect.com.