INTERVIEW: Nexamp CEO details plans on utility-scale expansion
Nexamp is looking to scale up its utility-scale business in a meaningful way in 2022 off a recent strategic hire and two successful rounds of capital raise.
The Boston-based developer has built up a huge book of business in community solar and C&I projects. However, this past year, it recruited former ENGIE Solar managing director Marc Alain-Behar to head up its utility-scale expansion efforts. Separately, it also raised USD 680m in capital through two separate transactions.
Nexamp is expected to lean on its core markets and its large corporate customers as initial drivers for its plans, but geographic expansion will also be in the cards.
“We’re seeing the need from large corporate customers that are interested in not only community solar but utility scale. We see synergies with what we have built and, in our sales, where we have this disconnected tissue with large energy buyers. So why wouldn’t we do this?” said Nexamp CEO Zaid Ashai in an interview with NPM.
One of these corporates, Walmart, closed a massive agreement with Nexamp back in August that contracted for 129 MW of energy from 23 separate community solar projects.
Nexamp plans to start out in its core markets such as Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island. It has also begun branching out into Illinois and Georgia.
“We’re starting out in states where we have a development footprint, understand the grid, and know the landowners,” Ashai said.
However, the developer is not afraid to explore new states, with an emphasis on virtual power purchase agreement (vPPA) opportunities.
NPM's Andrew Burnes speaks with Zaid Ashai, Chairman and CEO of Nexamp.
The two discuss recent developments for the company including the closes of a USD 240m equity capital commitment from Generate Capital and a USD 440m senior secured debt financing package led by MUFG backing a 380 MW portfolio of solar and energy storage assets.
“I don’t think you’ll see Nexamp in a feed and tariff market where it’s just a procurement market; we’re focused on structuring vPPAs with corporate customers and matching them with the right demand,” added Ashai.
…Community Solar Continues
Despite Nexamp’s move into utility-scale development, however, Ashai says he expects community solar development to continue to be the centerpiece of the firm’s expansion strategies. He predicts “rapid growth” in states with newer community solar legislation and is particularly excited about progress being made in states like New Mexico, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Oregon, and Maryland. Ashai says he is also hopeful about other states in the Southeast.
“I hope there are states that we would never have expected open up in the next two to four years, particularly states in the South where there’s a large number of low-to-moderate income communities that have been left out,” Ashai said. “I would not be surprised if we see some wins there. We need to try to get as many active markets as possible. I’d love to see us get to 30 or 40 active markets, but we’re just not even close to that yet.”