INTERVIEW: SunVest CEO provides update on capital raise

SunVest Solar is seeking an equity or structured investment in the range of USD 150m to fuel its rapidly expanding pipeline in the Midwest, and several new and existing markets across the country, said Bram Walters, SunVest CEO, in an interview with NPM.

SunVest Solar hired KeyBanc to raise capital at the beginning of this year.

Walters declined to directly address the status of that capital raise but did discuss in detail some of the near-term goals of the company when it’s ready to execute on the transaction. While platform sales have tailed off this year, there have been multiple investments made in the DG sector including Hull Street Energy making an investment in Greenskies Clean Focus and Greenbacker Capital Management making a minority equity investment in Telyon.

Since their 2020 investment from Euclid Capital, which equipped them with USD 50m equity, SunVest has tripled their internal headcount with “high-quality” professionals, grown their portfolio from 10 MW to 150 MW of operational and NTP-ready projects, and produced a pipeline of 1.8 GW, according to Walters.

The current round of funding they’re seeking will help them reach their current targets of further multiplying their internal headcount, primarily in their core Midwestern markets, expand their portfolio of operating assets to 300 MW by installing 175 MW annually, and developing a 3 GW pipeline by 2025.

In August 2023, SunVest secured an additional USD 60m construction loan to further advance their pipeline.

“We’re looking to continue to develop and deploy capital, and we’re interested in speaking with development partners where we can bring complimentary skills and capital throughout the development cycle across multiple markets," Walters said.

SunVest typically originates their own projects, constructs, and long-term owns and operates projects, however they’re not opposed to partnering with developers and acquiring new projects.

“We’re not an acquisition-focused platform necessarily, but we’d certainly look at opportunistic acquisitions where there’s an opportunity in our core markets or to grow into a new market that we think is attractive,” Walters said.

“We’ve demonstrated a tremendous amount of success with development, and we would be an excellent partner for other developers who want to increase the probability of projects being converted into operating projects given our track record and our historical conversion rates,” Walters said.

About half of their current portfolio consists of C&I and small-scale utility solar and the other half community solar—an area in which they intend to continue to advance in.

“We’re certainly seeing the market have a strong bias towards community solar and that’s where we are focusing our energies on right now,” Walters said.

Those markets are Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, and New Mexico, where the majority of their late-stage development and near-term construction projects are located. SunVest, with partners, received among the largest allocations in both the recent Illinois Shines and New Mexico Community Solar programs.

“Illinois certainly has been a big winner for us,” Walters said. “We were very early in Illinois and built a very extensive portfolio of greenfield land development. When the first lottery program came out, we were reasonably successful.”

In New Mexico’s community solar program, SunVest was awarded about 43 MW of projects, under SVOE, LLC, a joint venture with local Albuquerque-based developer Osceola Energy, also known as OE Solar. A tactical move, as the New Mexico community solar program favored bidders from in-state developers.

“We were happy with the award that we received in New Mexico,” Walters said. “We see that as a very healthy pipeline over the next couple years for the projects that were awarded.”

Walters said he’s optimistic that the New Mexico market will be able to stand up on its own beyond the pilot program in the long-run, and “our other projects (non-selected) and prospects in the state can participate in future programs.”

Walters confirmed they are also actively signing leases in Ohio, Michigan, and California, in anticipation of pending community solar legislation to passing in the states.

Ohio and Michigan in particular are optimal as they have headquarters in Chicago, Illinois and Pewaukee, and satellite offices in Geneva, Illinois, and Madison, Wisconsin.

“To the extent that Ohio and Michigan open up in a meaningful way—be it community solar or otherwise—we’re really excited for those markets,” Walters said.

Walters also confirmed they’re actively signing leases to develop C&I and other projects in Nebraska, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania.

SunVest has held its ground in Wisconsin as the largest developer in the state, having completed utility projects for We Energies and Alliant Energy, according to Walters.

“We’ve pivoted in the last few years from being an installer focused-business and then a development-focused business into a developer owner-operator and re-capitalize the business accordingly,” Walters said.

Prior to joining SunVest, Walters was co-founder and partner at Euclid Capital, where he led the investment in SunVest in 2020. His background also includes investor, advisor and financial professional in the renewable energy and infrastructure business. He was named CEO in December 2022.

*This story was originally published exclusively for NPM subscribers last month.


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