Solar company Nexamp Inc. has leveraged newly expanded tax credits to secure institutional financing for 49 community solar and battery storage projects in rural areas across six states.
US Bancorp Impact Finance and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. agreed to provide a combined $400 million in financing for the Massachusetts-based company, a sign the Inflation Reduction Act is having its intended effect to spur renewable energy investment as the industry responds to pressure to boost grid resilience. US Bank's funding is in the form of tax equity while MUFG has committed debt, according to Nexamp.
The facilities along the East Coast and into the Midwest, most of which the company says are already under construction, are expected to be completed between 2023 and early 2025. The projects will have a combined generating capacity of about 250 megawatts, enough to power as many as 40,000 homes. Community solar projects allow households that cannot easily install panels to access renewable energy from a nearby facility.
Nexamp Chief Executive Officer Zaid Ashai says he expects all projects to qualify for a 30% investment tax credit. "We're bringing in institutional capital that typically wasn't investing at scale in the sector," said Ashai. "Hopefully this is just a start of something that's bigger that you'll see in more and more states across the country."
