New Jersey-based Nautilus Solar Energy LLC has closed a $39 million financing deal with California-based Rabobank to support the construction of a solar photovoltaic portfolio of distributed generation (DG) projects in Ontario.
The portfolio consists of projects in the Ontario Power Authority's feed-in tariff program developed by Nautilus Solar Energy through its Canadian subsidiary, Nautilus Solar Energy Canada Inc., in a co-development partnership with Moose Power Inc.
The community investment partners include Green Energy Cooperative of Ontario Inc. (GECO) and Eagle Lake First Nation. North Sky CleanTech Alliance Fund LP and NewWorld Environmental Infrastructure LP will provide equity funding for the portfolio.
In addition to arranging the transaction, Nautilus will also provide physical and financial asset management for the projects.
‘One impediment to solar financing is the difficulty of securing funding for a group of heterogeneous assets,’ says Jim Rice, Nautilus's co-founder and CEO. ‘The deal Nautilus has secured with Rabobank and with community partners, GECO and Eagle Lake First Nation, demonstrates that complex transactions can get done, setting the stage for more such financings in the future.’
