New legislation and investors: Summit Ridge Energy on US solar

December 14, 2023
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
A rooftop community solar project from Summit Ridge in Maryland. Image: Summit Ridge Energy

New legislation and fresh investors have made a significant impact on the US solar sector, according to Summit Ridge Energy (SRE) co-founder and chief operating officer Brian Dunn, who spoke to PV Tech Premium yesterday.

Dunn explained that “it’s always good to diversify your partners,” speaking in the wake of SRE expanding a financing deal with Japanese financier MUFG to raise US$275 million for 30 community solar projects in the US states of Illinois and Virginia.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

The involvement of a foreign investor in this manner provides new opportunities for solar developers, and Dunn spoke about the range of new backers for SRE, from non-bank lenders to banks of a range of size and scopes, whose involvement has supported a number of new projects in the company’s portfolio.

Dunn also noted that maintaining good relationships with these new financiers is of “the utmost importance” in the modern energy sector, and described how SRE has worked to cultivate and maintain good relations with a range of investors. Considering the sums of money now being invested into the global solar sector, ensuring good relations with colleagues and collaborators across the solar supply chain has become a fundamental part of many companies’ businesses.

Other key changes to the US solar sector include the recent wave of legislation passed, headlined by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Dunn praised the IRA for fixing the investment tax credit at 30%, enabling people to receive tax credits for installing residential solar panels, and this combination of supportive legislation and new working relationships could be of benefit to the solar sector as a whole.

Read Next

Premium
October 17, 2025
According to Ronak Maheshwari of CRC-IB, there has been a struggle for US renewable power projects to secure necessary equity .
October 16, 2025
T1 Energy and Nextracker have agreed to use the latter’s steel module frames at the former’s new 5GW module manufacturing facility in Dallas.
October 15, 2025
The average price of a solar PPA signed in North America increased 4% between the second and third quarters of 2025, according to LevelTen.
Premium
October 13, 2025
Brett Beattie of Castillo Engineering looks at some of the key land grading work that can make multimillion-dollar differences to projects.
October 13, 2025
The Trump administration has cancelled the 6.2GW Esmeralda 7 solar project in Nevada – once touted as one of the largest in the world.
October 13, 2025
ANSI has approved a new traceability standard proposed by the SEIA to improve transparency of the solar and storage supply chain.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK