Nautilus Solar Energy, a national owner-operator of solar projects, acquired a 10.4-MW community solar portfolio from ReneSola Power, a fully-integrated solar project developer and provider of energy-efficient products.
The portfolio is comprised of eight single-axis tracker solar installations, each commonly referred to as a solar garden. Located in counties across the southern half of Minnesota, they are designed to produce enough energy to power over 1,450 homes.
“We are excited to be working with the Nautilus team. This transaction once again demonstrates the project development expertise of our team in Minneapolis,” said John Ewen, CEO of ReneSola Power North America.
Operating under Xcel’s Solar*Rewards Community Program, which allows customers to support solar energy without installing their own solar system and Minnesota’s VOS community solar program, the solar gardens’ subscriber base is estimated to benefit from over $1.8 million in electricity savings during the lifespan of the project. The sites are expected to be operational by Q1 of 2021.
“Despite ongoing macro uncertainties, both Nautilus and ReneSola teams successfully completed the transaction. Community solar remains an attractive market for us in the U.S., and we look forward to collaborating with Nautilus on other solar opportunities in the near future,” said Yumin Liu, CEO of ReneSola Power.
Nautilus will be responsible for the project management, long-term asset and subscriber management and maintenance services for this portfolio. In addition to having developed the projects, ReneSola will be responsible for securing the subscribers. The energy generated by the projects will directly benefit qualified commercial and residential off-takers situated within Xcel Energy’s service territory by providing energy cost savings while also advancing Minnesota’s 10% solar energy goal by 2030.
“With this acquisition, we are able to significantly expand our subscriber presence in the Minnesota community solar marketplace to service smaller commercial and even residential customers,” said Jim Rice, co-CEO of Nautilus Solar.
Nautilus Solar President Jeffrey Cheng added: “This successful transaction, being the fourth deal consummated with the ReneSola team over the last 3 years, further exemplifies Nautilus’s long-term commitment to working closely with our development partners.”
