Belectric and Smart Energy Capital said that they have created a joint venture to develop and finance utility-grade photovoltaic power plants. The partnership will focus on multimegawatt sites in the United States, and will develop projects on a greenfield basis as well as through acquisitions from qualified developers.
The two companies collaborated recently on the sale of Belectric's 30MW project to Constellation Energy in the Sacramentor Municipal Utility District's feed-in tariff program, a deal structured and arranged by Smart.
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Financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.
“This joint venture with Smart Energy Capital combines the leading systems integrator with the leading finance and development company, allowing us to aggressively reduce project development and finance costs,” said David Taggart, president/ COO of Belectric. “This will enable the development of more projects at a faster rate and offer a path forward to true price parity with fossil fuel power plants.”
“Belectric has become the number-one PV systems integrator worldwide by delivering low cost and superior quality in the design, installation and operation of solar power plants,” he continued. “In the past two years, we have seen significant reduction in the costs of PV modules. Belectric has built our business on cost reduction of the rest of the system (balance of system) through integrated system design, tailored component design and production, and efficient installation processes. By teaming up with Smart Energy Capital, we combine the most efficient design and construction in the industry with the most efficient capital in the industry.”
“Smart Energy's mission is to rapidly expand the market for solar by creating and delivering the most efficient capital solutions,” said Rob Krugel, managing partner of Smart Energy. “We examine every aspect of financing for ways to reduce transaction costs, optimize capital structure, attract leading investors, and deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns. The fundamental economic drivers of solar energy are the cost of development, the cost of construction, and the cost of capital, and this joint venture combines two companies with a clear track record in optimizing these drivers. As a result, we are able to offer our utility customers a complete solution of development, engineering, construction, finance, and operations on optimal terms.”
