National Trust Energy Capital, previously NT Solar, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Trust Community Investment Corporation (NTCIC), announces $40 million in solar tax credit investments in four multi-state community and municipal solar portfolios supporting 23 installations. These portfolios will provide clean energy savings to public schools, municipalities, and residents across the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast.

The installations, developed by Lodestar Energy, LLC, Wishcamper Solar Partners, and Summit Ridge Energy, will begin operation in early 2021 and will produce nearly 56 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year, the clean energy equivalent of consuming over 43 million pounds of coal or 92 thousand barrels of oil annually.

National Trust Energy Capital and the Growth of Solar Energy Investing

Despite the impact COVID-19 has had across the country, community solar remains the fastest-growing segment within the U.S. solar market. These installations allow multiple customers to share the electricity generated by a solar installation or farm, removing the need to install solar panels directly on a home or business.

A portion of National Trust Energy Capital’s investments were made possible through NTCIC/National Trust Energy Capital’s Climate Impact and Revitalization Fund (CIRF), which provides both historic rehabilitation and solar tax credit investments from a single platform. National Trust Energy Capital will deploy the new fund in solar tax credit projects that provide cost-effective energy options for utilities, residential subscribers, commercial end-users, municipalities, and businesses located in low-income communities.

Lodestar Energy, LLC Portfolio

National Trust Energy Capital’s two tax credit investments, totaling $12.8 million, will enable Lodestar Energy LLC’s development of seven ground-mounted solar installations in New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Founded in 2014 by Jeff Macel and Jaime Smith, Lodestar is an established northeast developer with more than 100 Megawatts (MW) in completed installations. Since that time, Lodestar has successfully completed more than 30 projects with a combined value of more than $200 million dollars, which offset more than 53,000 tons of CO2 and power the equivalent of more than 13,000 homes annually.

The installations in New York are located in designated Opportunity Zones and Lodestar has been at the forefront of combining solar and OZ. The off-takers of the new installations will receive electricity cost savings and include public schools, towns, water treatment facilities, nonprofits, and community residential subscribers.

Wishcamper Solar Partners Portfolio

Additionally, National Trust Energy Capital provided a $1.7 million tax credit investment for six ground- and roof-mounted installations in Maine and New Hampshire. The projects were developed by Wishcamper Solar Partners, a Portland, Maine-based socially motivated for-profit developer of affordable housing with properties in 22 states. The new installations will provide up to 9% in energy savings to subscribers, which include the Nashua school district, Dartmouth College, and three municipalities.

Summit Ridge Energy Portfolio

Finally, the National Trust Energy Capital  team financed fourteen community solar projects with Summit Ridge Energy (SRE) through NTCIC’s newly created Climate Impact and Revitalization Fund (CIRF). Summit Ridge Energy is the leading owner-operator of U.S. community solar projects. The team has been a strong force within the U.S. commercial solar market for years and was instrumental in the creation of “virtual” solar power purchase agreements and associated financing structures. The ground- and roof-mounted sites are located in Illinois and Maryland and will generate more than $26MM in solar investment tax credits.

On October 1st, 2018 National Trust Energy Capital, previously NT Solar, joined project officials and local residents to celebrate the ribbon cutting of a $17 million solar-energy installation located in Montague, Massachusetts. Marking the teamʻs third investment of 2018, the installation transformed an underused landfill into a 6-megawatt solar array, made up of 15,000 panels that cover over 40 acres. The solar installation will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide income from land-lease as well as savings on the cost of power for the Town of Montague.  The Town is committed to using the savings to support their public schools.

National Trust Energy Capital finances the transformation of sustainable communities nationwide by leveraging solar Investment Tax Credits to finance renewable energy production. To date, the group has raised over $265 million in equity invested in over 247-megawatts of solar energy projects. The power and energy savings generated from these projects are provided to offtakers including low-income residences, retirement communities, municipalities, schools and many others.

Previously in 2018, National Trust Energy Capital financed an $8 million project based in the town of Charlton, Massachusetts. The three co-located installations produced over 4.7MM kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy for local low-income housing developments. It is estimated that these housing authority offtakers will receive close to a 40% reduction in electricity costs valued at $250,000 a year and accruing over 20 years.

To learn more about National Trust Energy Capital investment opportunities, or to submit a project, visit ntenergycapital.com