Nationwide and Sol Systems Venture Completes Final Sale With Cypress Creek in 148 MW Master Purchase Agreement

North Carolina-based solar projects will be online by 2021

DURHAM, N.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#energyfinance–Today, Helios Infrastructure (Helios), a joint venture between Nationwide and Sol Systems, announced the completion of its project purchase from Cypress Creek Renewables. The $200+ million portfolio spans 20 projects across North Carolina, of which 97 MW are operational and 51 MW are under construction.

Since 2012, Nationwide and Sol Systems have financed over $700 million of solar projects throughout the United States. The portfolio is primarily composed of utility-scale assets selling energy to utilities, municipal customers, and universities. Today, Helios leverages the origination, underwriting and asset management resources the two partners have established.

“Helios was created with a vision of developing and owning solar projects,” Nationwide Investments Solar Equity Portfolio Manager Clark Lloyd said. “We look forward to seeing the positive environmental and economic benefits these projects will bring to the communities they serve.”

In June 2018, Helios and Cypress Creek executed a framework agreement to purchase a portfolio of utility-scale solar projects under development by Cypress Creek. Since the agreement was announced, Helios has purchased and closed financing on the projects in the portfolio on a rolling basis. Helios and Cypress Creek completed the sale of the final 25 MW in the portfolio on July 31, 2020.

“With Nationwide and Sol Systems, we have developed a valuable, multi-year partnership around our shared mission of powering a sustainable future and investing in the North Carolina communities,” said Cassidy DeLine, Vice President of Project Finance, Cypress Creek Renewables. “The complexities inherent in a portfolio with this number of projects require a partner like Helios at the table.”

“We value our partnership with Nationwide, as well as the opportunity to build on a long history of successful transactions with the Cypress Creek team, beginning with tax equity investments in 2015 and culminating in the completion of this master purchase,” said Jessica Robbins, Senior Director, Structured Finance, Sol Systems.

The 51 MW of projects under construction will create clean, renewable electricity that will benefit 20 counties and 12,000 homes per year in North Carolina, while offsetting approximately 150,000 tons of carbon annually (On a general scale, 1 MW can power 164 average homes, but can vary depending on regional differences).

Cypress Creek’s Engineering and Project Management group is overseeing the construction by Pure Power Contractors and CS Energy, which is targeting a placed-in-service date of December 2020. Upon completion, Cypress Creek O&M Services will provide operations and maintenance for the entire 20 project portfolio.

The largest project in the portfolio is Ruff, a 32MW solar site located in Ellenboro, N.C. The project was placed in service on July 27, 2020.

ABOUT NATIONWIDE

Nationwide, a Fortune 100 company based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest and strongest diversified insurance and financial services organizations in the United States. Nationwide is rated A+ by both A.M. Best and Standard & Poor’s. An industry leader in driving customer-focused innovation, Nationwide provides a full range of insurance and financial services products including auto, business, homeowners, farm and life insurance; public and private sector retirement plans, annuities and mutual funds; excess & surplus, specialty and surety; pet, motorcycle and boat insurance. For more information, visit www.nationwide.com. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Nationwide, Nationwide is on your side and the Nationwide N and Eagle are service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. © 2020

ABOUT SOL SYSTEMS

Sol Systems is a leading national solar energy firm with an established reputation for integrity and reliability across its development, infrastructure and environmental commodity businesses. To date, Sol has developed and/or financed over 1 GW of solar projects valued at more than $1 billion for Fortune 100 companies, municipalities, counties, utilities, universities and schools. The company also actively shapes and trades in environmental commodity and electricity markets throughout the United States. The company was founded in 2008, is based in Washington, D.C., and is led by its founder. Sol Systems works with its team, partners, and clients to create a more sustainable future we can all believe in. For more information, visit https://www.solsystems.com/.

ABOUT CYPRESS CREEK RENEWABLES

Cypress Creek Renewables is powering a sustainable future, one project at a time. We develop, finance, own and operate utility-scale and distributed facilities across the country. With more than 9.8GW of solar developed and more than 3.2GW under management, Cypress Creek is one of the country’s leading solar and storage companies. For more information about Cypress Creek, please visit www.ccrenew.com.

Contacts

Jamie Nolan for Cypress Creek, jamie@nolanstrategic.com, 410-463-9869