The debt warehouse facility and structured
equity investment will support construction of 300 Megawatts of
U.S. community solar projects and is Pivot's largest financing
agreement to date
DENVER, Nov. 21,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Pivot Energy ("Pivot"), a
leading, national renewable energy provider and independent power
producer, announced today two transformational financing
arrangements, marking a critical step toward establishing
innovative and scalable financing facilities. Pivot has
successfully secured a $450 million
debt warehouse facility, led by long-time partner, First Citizens
Bank, which includes new strategic partner ATLAS SP Partners
("ATLAS"), the warehouse finance and securitized products business
majority owned by Apollo funds.
"Pivot is redefining how to finance
portfolios of distributed generation solar projects."
In addition, Pivot closed on a structured equity investment from
HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Inc. ("HASI") in a new
project joint venture (JV). Together, these innovative financing
structures will support the construction of 300 Megawatts DC (MWdc)
of distributed generation projects that Pivot is developing across
the U.S. The portfolio consists of 96 projects, the majority of
which are community solar with the remaining being single off-take
Power Purchase Agreements for commercial clients. The projects are
expected to be operational within the next two years, located
across nine states: California,
Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New
York, and Virginia.
"Pivot is redefining how to finance portfolios of distributed
generation solar projects at scale which reflects our mission to
advance the renewable energy transition," said Bret Labadie, Chief Financial Officer of Pivot.
"We are thrilled to expand our longstanding partnership with First
Citizens Bank and welcome new relationships with key institutions
like ATLAS and HASI, all of which are deeply respected in the clean
energy space."
$450 Million Debt Warehouse
Facility
The $450 million debt
warehouse facility is one of the largest-ever raised for
distributed generation solar. It is led by First Citizens Bank and
includes ATLAS, with support from existing lenders Bank United,
Comerica, and Cadence Bank. The new
strategic relationship with ATLAS provides additional debt takeout
optionality by leveraging ATLAS' deep expertise in the solar
asset-backed securitization (ABS) space.
This warehouse facility is specifically designed to meet the
challenges of developing and constructing community-scale solar
projects and will support the initial portfolio of community solar
projects underway. The shared vision with lenders is to upsize and
extend annually to support growing project volumes, further
enabling long-term sustainable growth.
"We are pleased to build upon our partnership with Pivot
Energy," said Bret Turner, Managing
Director of First Citizens Bank's Energy Finance business. "Our
team worked collaboratively to solve a market obstacle in
distributed generation, designing an innovative construction
warehouse that will further help the company scale
efficiently."
"We are pleased to support Pivot with financing to develop,
build and manage community-level solar and energy storage
projects," said Spencer Hunsberger,
Head of Energy Origination at ATLAS. "Leveraging our expertise in
securitizing solar-related assets, we are confident that Pivot can
continue to make progress on its energy transition goals and meet
the growing need for renewable energy solutions across the United States."
Structured Equity Investment from HASI in Project
JV
This JV with HASI marks an exciting step for Pivot to
further accelerate the deployment of solar projects. It is
initially designed to support the same portfolio of projects
discussed above and opens up the opportunity to sell tax credits
directly to large corporations as opposed to relying on complex tax
equity structures.
"We admire Pivot's strategy and proven success in powering
progress for local communities at scale," said Daniela Shapiro, Senior Managing Director of
HASI. "We are proud to partner with Pivot in this new JV to support
their mission to increase equitable access to clean energy and cost
savings for local communities."
These financing facilities are designed to work tightly together
to enhance Pivot Energy's ability to develop, construct, own, and
operate distributed generation solar projects for years into the
future. These operational efficiencies align with Pivot's strategy
of making solar energy accessible to more communities and
businesses. By combining a large-scale debt facility with a
structured equity investment in the projects, Pivot is positioned
to deliver impactful renewable energy projects to help meet growing
demand for clean energy.
CRC-IB acted as exclusive financial advisor to Pivot, and
Stoel Rives acted as exclusive legal
advisor. Milbank acted as legal advisor to First Citizens Bank, and
Sheppard Mullin acted as legal
advisor to HASI.
About Pivot Energy
Pivot Energy is a renewable energy
provider and independent power producer that develops, finances,
builds, owns, and manages solar and energy storage projects. Pivot
leverages its renewable expertise to provide a range of unique
offerings that accelerate the clean energy transition by helping
companies and communities attain impactful decarbonization. Pivot
is a U.S.-based Certified B-Corporation that proudly follows a
corporate strategy aimed at providing a positive impact on society
as measured by Environmental stewardship, Social leadership, and
responsible Governance factors. Pivot Energy is an ECP portfolio
company. Learn more at pivotenergy.net.
About First Citizens Bank
First Citizens Bank helps
personal, business, commercial and wealth clients build financial
strength that lasts. Headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., First Citizens has built a
unique legacy of strength, stability and long-term thinking that
has spanned generations. First Citizens offers an array of general
banking services including a network of more than 500 branches and
offices in 30 states; commercial banking expertise delivering
best-in-class lending, leasing and other financial services coast
to coast; innovation banking serving businesses at every stage; and
a nationwide direct bank. Parent company First Citizens BancShares,
Inc. (NASDAQ: FCNCA) is a top 20 U.S. financial institution with
more than $200 billion in assets and
a member of the Fortune 500™. Discover more at
firstcitizens.com.
About ATLAS SP
ATLAS SP is a global investment firm providing stable capital,
financing, advisory and institutional products to market
participants seeking innovative and bespoke structured credit and
asset backed solutions. We're proud to build upon a legacy of
client excellence that includes certainty of execution, deep
expertise and full-service capabilities across the asset management
landscape. For more information, visit www.atlas-sp.com.
About HASI
HASI (NYSE: HASI) is a leading climate
positive investment firm that actively partners with clients to
deploy real assets that facilitate the energy transition. With more
than $13 billion in managed assets,
our vision is that every investment improves our climate future.
For more information, please visit hasi.com.
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SOURCE Pivot Energy
