Spruce Power, an owner and operator of distributed residential solar systems, announced the acquisition of a residential solar portfolio from NJR Clean Energy Ventures (CEV), a subsidiary of New Jersey Resources for $132.5 million. The transaction closed on November 22, 2024.
The acquired portfolio, known as Spruce Power 5 Portfolio, includes approximately 9,800 solar systems in New Jersey, which were installed under a CEV residential solar program between 2010 and 2024.
Spruce funded the acquisition purchase price with $22.7 million cash on hand and proceeds from a new debt facility. Alongside the acquisition, the company closed on a $109.8 million debt facility (the SP5 Facility) from Santander.
The portfolio is supported by long-term lease agreements with homeowners, with an average remaining contract life of over 11 years. Spruce is entitled to the customer payment streams and renewable energy credit program incentives related to the portfolio, effective October 1st, 2024.
“This is an exciting acquisition that provides an immediate positive impact to Spruce’s financial and strategic outlook through continued scaling of our ownership of home solar assets and contracts,” said Chris Hayes, Chief Executive Officer of Spruce. “We are proud that this acquisition solidifies Spruce as a leading provider of residential solar energy in New Jersey. Over the past decade, the NJR CEV team has built an impressive portfolio of high-quality residential solar systems and cultivated a strong customer base. We look forward to continuing their commitment to safety, the environment and customer service in the state of New Jersey.”
According to Mercom’s 9M and Q3 2024 Solar Funding and M&A report, 166 project acquisitions totaling 28.3 GW were transacted in 9M 2024 compared to the same number of project acquisitions totaling 31.6 GW in 9M 2023.
Earlier this week, BayWa r.e., a renewable energy project developer, announced the sale of three solar projects totaling 517 MWdc to a privately held renewable independent power producer.
