3.75 (DC) megawatt solar installations deliver sustainable solar energy to leading anchor customer and residential subscribers
SUPERIOR, CO. – Oct. 30, 2018 – Key Equipment Finance, one of the nation’s largest bank-held equipment finance companies and an affiliate of KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY), today announced it has provided a $7.8 million tax lease and a $1.9 million term loan to Radnor, Pa.-based Community Energy, Inc., a provider of utility-scale wind and solar projects, for community solar projects in Massachusetts totaling 3.75 MW (DC). Split between solar farms in the Towns of Barre and Rutland, the projects will generate remote net metering credits. A Massachusetts commercial customer will purchase half the generation output, with the remainder purchased by residential community solar subscribers.
Community Energy used sale-leaseback financing for the project, which includes a Power Purchase Agreement and allows monetization of the tax benefits, inclusive of the investment tax credit and depreciation. In this solar tax lease structure, Community Energy owns and operates the system and sells the power.
“Customized financing plays an important role by bringing the benefits of community solar to more customers,” said Doug Beebe, vice president of energy finance for Key Equipment Finance Clean Energy, which provides financing across all types of clean energy products. “It also contributes to Key’s broader sustainability goals.”
“The partners on these Massachusetts solar projects are leading the way on sustainability and climate change” said Brent Alderfer, CEO of Developer, Community Energy Solar. “Our leading corporate customer on this solar project, joined by local residents, agreed to buy the solar output under the National Grid Utility community solar program, and Key Equipment Finance, with its expert solar finance team, sealed the deal by providing project finance.”
Community solar projects are built within the local region using the best solar technology and design to provide cost-effective solar under utility programs like this one with National Grid that allow businesses and residents to purchase a share of the solar electricity generated by the project. The customers get the full solar benefits, including locked in electricity prices, without the need to build solar on what might be less-than-ideal sites on their property. For corporations, renewable energy is an increasingly important part of corporate environmental sustainability strategies, and community solar is one way to achieve that goal.
These community solar projects allowed National Grid utility customers the opportunity to subscribe for a portion of the solar generation, which provides electricity cost savings over the long term. Subscribers, including the commercial subscriber, are saving money and doing something positive for the environment by supporting the transition to renewable energy. The projects will send solar-generated electricity to the local utility grid where it is then delivered to local homes and businesses in the area.
Rutland Solar (990 kW-AC) was the first project to achieve commercial operation in 2017. The facility generated over 1.7 million kilowatt hours of clean energy each year; eliminating over 2.8 million pounds of CO₂ from the atmosphere annually, while powering the equivalent of approximately 135 average households.
Barre Solar is Community Energy’s second Massachusetts community solar garden. It is comprised of three co-located projects in the Town of Barre, totaling 1.9 MW (AC).
The system consists of 7,434 Hanwha 330-watt modules installed on fixed-tilt, ground-mounted racking, provided by RBI Solar, and interconnected to the National Grid electric distribution system at 13.8 kilovolts with SMA string inverters. The facility generates over 3 million kilowatt hours of clean energy each year, eliminating over 5 million pounds of CO₂ from the atmosphere annually while powering the equivalent of approximately 350 average households.
Barre Solar achieved commercial operation in 2018 and the system is operated by Community Energy Solar.
About Key Equipment Finance
Key Equipment Finance has been in the equipment finance business for 45 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 commercial vendor unit, equipment finance programs are developed for manufacturers, distributors and resellers.
Key Equipment Finance’s specialty finance group includes a specialty finance lending team, which provides structured facilities to various sectors of the specialty finance market, and a lease capital markets team to support corporations looking to optimize risk and revenue. Headquartered outside Denver, Colorado, Key Equipment Finance manages nearly $13 billion in assets and originates nearly $6 billion of equipment financing annually. For more information, visit http://www.keyequipmentfinance.com.
About KeyCorp
KeyCorp's roots trace back 190 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $138.8 billion at September 30, 2018. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of over 1,100 branches and more than 1,500 ATMs. 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/. KeyBank is Member FDIC.
About Community Energy
Since its inception in 1999, Community Energy has led the development and construction of more than 1,200 MW of wind and solar generating facilities. Community Energy has used a pioneering mix of utility off-take approaches, renewable energy marketing, and development expertise to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy technologies at scale. With offices in Chapel Hill, NC, and headquarters in Radnor, PA, Community Energy has a strong presence in multiple renewable energy markets. For more information about Community Energy, please visit www.communityenergysolar.com.