Energize Weekly, June 20, 2018
A Canadian real estate investment company is teaming up with a Texas solar developer for $100 million in solar projects in Austin and San Antonio.
Toronto-based Fengate Real Asset Investments will provide the financing for projects developed by PowerFin Partners, which has offices in Austin and San Antonio.
The multi-year deal will fund the development of a “significant pipeline of solar projects in Texas,” Fengate said in a release.
PowerFin developed the 6-megawatt (MW) solar host program for San Antonio’s city-owned utility, CPS Energy, where solar arrays owned by the developer were placed on roofs of homes at no cost to the owners, who then receive a credit on their electric bills.
The developer also created a 3-MW solar farm in Austin, in which residents could purchase a share of the output. PowerFin has also developed solar farms in California.
Both Texas projects will now be owned by Fengate, which acquired a total of 9.1 MW of projects in the deal.
“Fengate is pleased to partner with PowerFin to further expand our renewable energy platform in Texas, the fastest growing solar market in the United States,” Greg Calhoun, Fengate’s director of infrastructure for the U.S., said in a statement.
Fengate is an investment firm specializing in real assets, with a focus on infrastructure, private equity and real estate, with more than $2.8 billion total equity commitments, the company said.
The Canadian company said it has a renewable energy portfolio with wind, solar, hydro and biomass projects in North America. The PowerFin deal is Fengate’s third clean energy co-development partnership investment in North America.
“Fengate is an ideal investment partner,” Tuan Pham, PowerFin president, said in a statement.
Texas is the nation’s leader in wind power with 22,000 MW of installed capacity, but it has only 2,000 MW of solar capacity, placing in seventh among the states. California is the leader in solar generation with 21,000 MW of capacity.
