CIT Group Inc. announced that its Power and Energy business served as sole lead arranger for $67.8 million in financing for construction of the new AMP NY2 community solar and storage portfolio.
CIT led the financing on behalf of Amp Energy, which is developing a renewable energy portfolio consisting of five separate solar power generation systems at four project sites located throughout central New York State.
Taken together, the portfolio represents about 40 megawatts of solar generation capacity and includes three sites with battery storage capabilities of about 9 megawatts each. On-site battery storage is an increasingly common strategy for ensuring renewable power is available at times of rising demand or low generation.
Amp is a leading global energy transition platform and renewable energy developer. Founded in 2009, headquartered in Toronto, Canada with global operations throughout North America, Australia, Japan, Spain, Czech Republic and the UK, the company has acquired or developed more than 6 gigawatts of renewable power generation since its inception.
Renewable power generated by the AMP NY2 portfolio will be fully contracted on completion by a mix of residential and commercial customers.
New York Green Bank, a state-sponsored financial entity working to increase investments into New York’s clean energy markets, is sharing in the debt financing for the project.
“The AMP NY2 portfolio responds to the growing demand from customers for increased renewable power generation and the flexibility that the battery storage capacity can offer when paired with Amp’s proprietary disruptive grid-edge technology platform, Amp X, utilizing its artificial intelligence expertise,” said Jared Donald, Executive Vice President, Head of USA for Amp. “We appreciated CIT’s expertise and agility in arranging financing to move this project forward showing confidence in Amp’s technology platform to dispatch the assets as planned.”
“Amp is well known throughout the industry for its success and expertise in developing top-tier renewable power generation projects,” said Mike Lorusso, managing director and group head for CIT’s Power and Energy business. “We were pleased to work closely with them and New York Green Bank to make this financing package a reality.”
CIT consistently ranks among the nation’s top lenders for renewable energy projects, as reported by market research firm Inframation, an Acuris company. CIT also was recognized as Renewable Energy Lead Arranger of the Year in 2020 by Power Finance & Risk, a top energy industry trade publication.
Power and Energy, part of CIT’s Commercial Finance division, leverages its deep industry knowledge and expertise to offer comprehensive financing solutions for renewable and conventional power generation. The unit manages a large, diverse portfolio that includes investments in all asset classes across the energy sector.