Silicon Ranch Corporation, the U.S. solar platform for Shell and an independent solar power producer, has raised $775 million in new equity capital. Manulife Investment Management, on behalf of Manulife Infrastructure Fund II and John Hancock, led the round with an approximately $400 million commitment. Other existing Silicon Ranch shareholders, including Shell, TD Greystone Infrastructure Fund (Global Master), and Mountain Group Partners, joined the round. The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2022.
Ark Energy Corporation, an Australian subsidiary of Korea Zinc, is acquiring a 100% stake in utility-scale wind and solar project developer Epuron Holdings. After completing the transaction, Ark Energy will acquire 4.2 GW of early-stage wind and solar projects in Queensland, New South Wales, and Tasmania. Ark will also acquire a further project pipeline of 4.8 GW. The company will own and operate 7 MW fully contracted off-grid solar generation assets in the Northern Territory and own a 50% stake in renewables technology and data provider Fulcrum3D.
PosiGen, a provider of renewable energy and efficiency solutions for low-to-moderate income households, announced the close of a $100 million preferred equity financing. Magnetar Capital’s Energy & Infrastructure group was the lead investor in the financing and will nominate two new directors to join PosiGen’s Board of Directors. Existing PosiGen investors, including Emerson Collective, Irradiant Partners, Activate Capital, The Builders Fund, SJF Ventures, and The Kresge Foundation, also participated in the financing.
U.S.-based Kohler continues its focus on providing power resiliency solutions by expanding its clean energy management offering with the acquisition of Heila Technologies. Heila will become part of Kohler’s Power Group. Heila Technologies is dedicated to simplifying the integration and operation of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) and microgrids. Heila has successfully combined theoretical knowledge with practical industry experience to transform the energy industry from the ground up using DERs such as batteries, fuel cells, and solar arrays as the pillars of a new resilient, sustainable, and reliable grid for communities and businesses.
NovaSource Power Services, a solar operations, and maintenance service provider, announced it had acquired advanced aerial inspections and site data service provider Heliolytics. This strategic acquisition is highly complementary to NovaSource’s existing O&M portfolio and strengthens the company’s ability to offer best-in-class lifecycle services within the renewable energy sector.
VINCI has concluded the acquisition of ACS energy business, Cobra IS, which comprises a 15 GW renewables pipeline, for a final purchase price of $5.5 billion, including the acquired unit’s cash. As per the terms of the transaction, VINCI acquired the majority of the contracting business of the ACS Industrial Services division, renewable energy project development platform, and nine greenfield concession projects, including electrical transmission networks located in Latin America that are in the development phase. The portfolio comprises solar PV, onshore wind, and additional GW from potential offshore wind projects. Under the deal, ACS would receive an earn-out payment of $45.3 million for each gigawatt from the ready-to-build renewable energy capacity for up to 15 GW, developed by Cobra IS over a period of 8.5 years. This would result in a maximum additional payment of $680 million.
Energy Vault, the company developing sustainable, grid-scale energy storage solutions, announced a strategic partnership for renewable energy storage with Korea Zinc, a non-ferrous metal smelting producer. The partnership supports Korea Zinc’s strategy to decarbonize their refining and smelting operations, initially focused on under wholly-owned subsidiary Sun Metals Corporation. The companies expect to begin project deployment in mid-2022. In conjunction with its previously announced business combination with Novus Capital Corporation II, Energy Vault announced a $100 million private placement (PIPE) investment. In addition to the strategic partnership announced, Korea Zinc has executed a subscription agreement committing a $50 million investment to Novus’s PIPE.
Modern Energy, a clean energy company that invests in, builds, and operates energy transition businesses, announced an investment of $30 million into the launch and multi-year deployment of Industrial Sun, an Austin-based utility-scale solar developer. Kirk Bedell and Jazib Hasan led the transaction for Modern Energy.
For reports and trackers on funding and M&A transactions in solar, energy storage, smart grid, and efficiency sectors, click here.
Read last week’s funding roundup.
