CleanCapital, a fully integrated, diversified clean energy company, announced it has acquired an operating solar portfolio made up of two brownfield assets—Steel Sun II and Homeridae—totaling 13 megawatts (MW). The projects, which supply clean energy to a local university, healthcare provider, and a municipality in Upstate New York, were developed by BQ Energy Development (BQ) – a national leader in brownfield and landfill renewable energy development that CleanCapital acquired in 2022. Both projects have been financed by M&T Bank’s Commercial Equipment Finance Group.
The acquisition of these two projects represents a full realization of the BQ acquisition and signals CleanCapital’s continued investment in both operating solar projects and early-stage development. The solar projects, operational since 2019, are emblematic of BQ’s early leadership and deep expertise in the brownfield solar space. The former BQ team is fully integrated with CleanCapital, bringing with them more than 20 years of project development experience. CleanCapital’s in-house development team, led by former BQ CEO Paul Curran, now comprises nearly a quarter of the company headcount and oversees a project pipeline of nearly two gigawatts (GW) of solar and more than eight gigawatt-hours (GWh) of energy storage.
“The work we did at BQ Energy, including developing and operating these two exceptional projects, is a source of great pride for me,” said Paul Curran, Chief Development Officer at CleanCapital and former BQ CEO. “Fully integrating the former BQ team into CleanCapital has produced a development team with the expertise, track record, and financial runway to develop, build, and operate hundreds of megawatts in the next few years. Our focus now is to execute on the more than 100 projects in our pipeline and deliver more clean megawatts to our customers as expeditiously as we can.”
“The acquisition of BQ Energy and its assets—and the subsequent merging of our teams—immediately expanded CleanCapital’s scope,” said Thomas Byrne, CEO of CleanCapital. “No other organization has the breadth of capabilities or deep expertise that we can offer. Plus, with the tailwinds of Inflation Reduction Act and the rapid increase in corporate demand for clean energy, converting environmentally compromised land into a source of clean energy presents a unique opportunity as we transition the grid to clean energy.”
Steel Sun II is located on the former Bethlehem Steel site on Buffalo’s waterfront and is part of a larger revitalization that includes an array of solar and wind projects. The energy generated by this project is contracted to local mainstays Kaleida Health and Canisius University, the latter of which is meeting its sustainability goals with this project. The Homeridae project is one of two solar arrays in Olean sited on a former oil refinery and tank farm, respectively. The City of Olean is the energy offtake for these projects, which have demonstrated cost savings to taxpayers in the five years the projects have been operating. Both sites benefited from the Department of Environmental Conservation Region 9 brownfield cleanup program.
“The net metering credits generated by the Homeridae solar project have been a significant benefit to our city budget, allowing us to reallocate savings toward other essential services for our community,” stated William Aiello, Mayor of Olean. “We are excited to see the ongoing positive impact of this oil refinery turned solar project that provides reliable and clean energy to the City of Olean."
“M&T Bank has long believed that our ongoing success is deeply intertwined with that of Buffalo and all the communities we serve,” said Mark Adiletta, Group Manager and Senior Vice President of M&T Commercial Equipment Finance. “In 2022, M&T committed to a five-year plan to invest $1 billion in renewable energy projects and has deployed $603.9 million as of 2023. We continue to honor and fulfill our commitment to sustainability and community success with the financing for Steel Sun II and Homeridae, executed through M&T’s Commercial Equipment Finance group in support of BQ Energy. We are pleased to expand that support with the CleanCapital development team through this acquisition.”
“Canisius University has been harnessing clean energy from this solar project for several years now and the benefits are twofold,” says Joseph Snodgrass, director of facilities management. “By investing in the production of natural energy, the institution is able to reduce electricity costs while advancing its commitment to the Vatican-led initiative, Laudato Si,’ which guides Catholic institutions on ways to achieve an eco-sustainable environment.”
This most recent project acquisition brings CleanCapital’s portfolio of operating and under-construction assets to 242 projects totaling 341 MW across 23 states and U.S. territories. These projects, comprising community solar, commercial & industrial (C&I) solar, and utility-scale solar, serve more than 116 corporations, municipalities, schools, hospitals, and other customers across the U.S.