A round-up of the latest news from the US solar market, featuring Vision Solar’s commitment to hire “hundreds” of sales staff as part of a two-state expansion, Recurrent Energy’s sale of two major assets in Texas and news of 8minute Solar Energy strengthening its legal team.
Vision Solar to hire ‘hundreds’ as it expands into Florida and Connecticut
26 July 2021: New Jersey-headquartered residential solar installer Vision Solar has expanded into Florida and Connecticut.
The company said it would be hiring “hundreds” of new sales personnel out of a new office in Deerfield Beach, Florida, which will also be used to train sales staff and house marketing and innovation teams.
Vision said the expansion would be followed by moves into other states.
“This move to South Florida and Connecticut will continue to allow us to expand and reach areas we weren’t able to reach before. In Connecticut, Net metering isn’t going away anytime soon, the credits will be in dollars and cents, not kilowatt-hours, and homeowners will be able to size up their systems to allow for future electric vehicle plug-ins,” Michael Eden, chief revenue officer at Vision Solar, said.
Recurrent Energy completes 328MWp Texas solar sale
21 July 2021: Recurrent Energy, the solar development division of module manufacturer Canadian Solar, has completed the sale of two solar assets in Texas with a combined capacity of 328MWp/250MWac.
Maplewood 1 and Maplewood 2, located near the towns of Fort Stockton and McCamey, respectively, in Pecos County, Texas, are both currently under construction and are expected to start commercial operations in Q3 2021.
Recurrent said the buyer of the assets is a leading US-based annuity and life insurance company, but did not name it.
Shawn Qu, chairman and CEO at Canadian Solar, said the transaction was Recurrent’s first major project sale with commercial and industrial offtakers attached.
“This is a particularly exciting milestone given the ongoing challenges posed by the global pandemic and is a testament that solar energy has truly entered into the mainstream,” he said.
8minute Solar Energy strengthens legal team with GC hire
26 July 2021: US solar and storage developer 8minute Solar Energy has bolstered its legal team with the appointment of Jennifer D. Arasimowicz as its new general counsel.
Arasimowicz will lead 8minute’s legal and human resources teams, overseeing its compliance, governance, intellectual property strategy and protection and the implementation of its ESG initiatives.
Arasimowicz has a background in energy having previously served at FuelCell Energy and Total Energy while having also served on the energy transition team led by Connecticut governor-elect Ned Lamont.
“An expert in energy and technology, Jennifer’s tenacious drive, innovative thinking and valuable expertise aligns with our design and engineering driven approach,” Tom Buttgenbach, founder and CEO at 8minute, said.
National Grid secures US$150m financing for US portfolio
21 July 2020: National Grid has secured a US$150 million revolving finance facility to support the development of its US renewables portfolio.
The financing facility, which can be expanded to US$250 million through an accordion feature from the middle of next year, has been secured by Emerald Energy Venture, an LLC joint venture established by National Grid.
The financing is to support part of the construction of a 1.05GW portfolio of solar, energy storage and wind projects under development by National Grid Renewables.
“This new green facility will help accelerate the work National Grid Renewables is doing in the renewable energy space in the U.S., which not only generates significant environmental benefits, but also drives economic activity and creates green jobs in communities across America,” Alexandra Lewis, group treasurer at National Grid, said.
