CleanCapital, a diversified clean energy company, 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 landfill renewable energy development that CleanCapital acquired in 2022. Both projects have been financed by M&T Bank’s commercial equipment finance group.
“The work we did at BQ Energy, including developing and operating these two exceptional projects, is a source of great pride for me,” Paul Curran, chief development officer at CleanCapital and former BQ CEO, said. “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,” Thomas Byrne, CEO of CleanCapital, said. “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.”
“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,” William Aiello, mayor of Olean, said. “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,” Mark Adiletta, group manager and senior vice president of M&T Commercial Equipment Finance, said. “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,” Joseph Snodgrass, director of facilities management, said. “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.”
