May 22 2015
D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments, L.L.C. (DESRI) and Bright Plain Renewable Energy (BPRE) today announced the acquisition of two solar projects with a combined capacity of 7.1 MW-DC located in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The projects were developed by Community Energy, Inc. (CEI) and acquired by an affiliate of DESRI in partnership with BPRE. The sites are located on industrial property owned by Citizens Energy Group (Citizens), including a former monofill landfill.
groSolar will serve as the engineering, procurement, and construction contractor for the projects, and provide operations and maintenance services to the facilities once they are operational later this year. The projects are expected to produce more than 9,000 MWhs of clean energy per year for customers of Indianapolis Power & Light Company, part of the AES Corporation. KeyBank National Association provided financing for the acquisition, construction, and operation of the projects.
“DESRI is excited to expand our footprint in Indiana,” said Bryan Martin, managing director and head of U.S. Private Equity at the D. E. Shaw group. “We have successfully completed projects on other closed landfills and are looking forward to transforming the Marion site into a world class renewable energy facility for the residents and businesses of Indianapolis.”
“This collaboration demonstrates Citizens’ commitment to green infrastructure and optimizing our industrial land to create sustainable results for our community,” said Jeffrey Harrison, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Citizens Energy Group.
“CEI has a long history of developing renewable energy projects tailored to community needs,” said Eric Blank, Executive Vice President and Founder of CEI. “We are pleased to have successfully developed this landfill solar project for DESRI and BPRE.”
Jamie Resor, Chief Executive Officer of groSolar, added, “We are very pleased to draw on our expertise constructing PV projects atop technically challenging and environmentally sensitive sites to make these projects a success.”
“We are very pleased to have played a leading role in the financing of the Marion site transformation,” said Aaron Klein, vice president, KeyBanc Capital Markets Utility, Power & Renewable Energy Group. “The financing of this type of project demonstrates our commitment to sustainability and renewable projects with solid fundamentals.”