Lightstar Renewables executive discusses Empower partnership

A partnership has emerged between Lightstar Renewables and Empower Energies to merge two community solar development skillsets and expand their pipeline in the U.S., said Sam Bailly, Lightstar’s Director of Acquisitions, in an interview with NPM.

“Lightstar’s history is greenfield development centric. Empower has significant experience with C&I and rooftop solar. With their EPC background and deep engineering knowledge, we’re marrying our skillsets together to be as productive as possible,” Bailly said.

In the partnership, Lightstar will provide the development capital and offer their expertise to Empower who will be developing the projects, Bailly said. Lightstar intends to be the long-term owners and operators of all the projects.

Boston-based Lightstar has 800 MW of projects in various stages of development which include a portfolio of projects in the Northeast currently under construction that should go live by the end of the year. The company was founded in 2019 by its current CEO Paul Wheeler.

“Lightstar is a very ambitious organization,” Bailly said. “This partnership is really about expanding our development footprint. Getting more boots on the ground and helping enable the clean energy transition at a faster pace by deploying skilled development partners into community solar markets.”

Maryland-based Empower was founded in 2010 as a solar manufacturer and project developer. By 2013, they shifted their focus exclusively to solar development, according to their website. The company is run by Michael Belko, formerly an executive at SunEdison, and employs alumni of SolarCity, NRG, and Tesla. The company has completed over 200 MW of clean energy projects nationwide, with over 800 MW of solar and storage projects currently in development, including some of the largest commercial solar canopies on the planet for its Fortune 100 clients.

“We’re hitting the ground running but we’re just getting started,” Bailly said, adding their intentions to expand their footprint in mature markets in the Northeast and early-stage markets in the Midwest and Southwest.

“Our community solar market participation is driven by policy,” he said. “Often times we play a role in helping to shape sound community solar policy If there’s an active market, then we’re probably there.”

Bailly did not share details for what markets they intend to target first.

According to their website, Lightstar has three active greenfield solar farms in New York--5.53 MW in Poughkeepsie, 4.11 MW in Saugerties, and 2.36 in Hyde Park. They also have a 4.09 MW solar farm under construction in Felt Mills, which they estimate will power 792 homes.

According to NPM data, they are also seeking a Special Use Permit in Wappinger, Duchess County, New York, for Myers Corners Solar Farm to be built on 38.09 acres.

As the country awaits guidance on the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, Bailly acknowledged the federal government for stepping in to provide the industry with economic support.

“We view the IRA as a major boon to the industry—helping bring a lot of projects that might not otherwise be economically feasible—bring them above that feasibility threshold and help open up new markets that have not been particularly policy rich in terms of support in the past,” Bailly said.

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


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