Long-time REVITALIZATION readers know that one of my (Storm Cunningham) favorite Restoration Economy companies is Encore Renewable Energy.
Encore is a Burlington, Vermont-based leader in commercial renewable energy with a proven track record in solar development from concept to completion. Founded in 2007 as Encore Redevelopment, their team specializes in the design, development, financing, permitting, and construction of solar and energy storage projects on landfills, brownfields, rooftops and carports. Encore is revitalizing communities and creating a cleaner, brighter future for all.
Now, on November 19, 2020, Encore and Greenbacker announced a new partnership that will expand the deployment of solar and energy storage projects on underutilized property with a new source of development capital from Greenbacker’s Development Opportunities Fund.
“This financing is an important expansion of our partnership with Greenbacker, which will only further our commitment to the clean energy economy in the Northeast and beyond,” said Encore CEO Chad Farrell, who wrote a Guest Article in issue #118 of REVITALIZATION.
“Greenbacker’s Development Opportunities Fund is uniquely positioned to leverage our track record and values-based approach to renewable energy project origination and development given their deep experience in the sector. They are providing a critically important source of capital that will support ongoing plans to scale our business,” he added.
Greenbacker’s Development Opportunities Fund, part of the family of funds advised by Greenbacker Capital Management, LLC, was launched earlier this year to provide flexible capital to sustainable infrastructure developers across the United States. The fund also recently announced an equity investment in Chaberton Energy Holdings, Inc., a solar developer focused on the Mid-Atlantic region.
“We are pleased that our fund’s inaugural transaction is a partnership with a company that is both a trusted partner of the Greenbacker organization and an important player in renewable energy development across the Northeast,” said Benjamin Baker, Managing Director and Principal of Greenbacker’s Development Opportunities Fund. “We look forward to working closely with Encore as the company continues its success in the years to come.”
The new corporate debt financing will provide capital to expedite and expand Encore’s efforts to originate, develop and construct community- and small utility-scale solar arrays and energy storage facilities on sites such as brownfields, landfills, parking lots, gravel pits and farms. The partnership will also allow for a further expansion of Encore’s existing work developing pollinator friendly habitat and other beneficial dual land uses alongside its solar projects.
Photo of 2.2MWp solar array on a closed and capped landfill at South Burlington, Vermont is courtesy of Encore.