Amp Energy’s portfolio of 34 MW of planned community solar projects in New York State achieved financing, with CIT announcing its role as lead arranger for the $50.5 million investment. CIT is a division of First Citizens Bank.
The portfolio, named NY3, contains six projects in central New York that have a total capacity of 34 MW. The electricity generated by the community solar projects is fully contracted for sale to the region’s businesses and residents.
New York State is a hotbed for community solar development in the US, especially for a Northeastern state that has land-use limitations. The Solar Energy Industries Association ranks the state 11th nationally in solar deployment, and reports about 3.1 GW installed and $7.2 billion invested to date.
The state’s successful community solar market comes in part from supportive policies like the NY Sun program. SEIA led efforts to expand and boost incentive values for community solar projects above initially proposed values. New York is projected to develop nearly 4.4 GW of solar over the next five years, said SEIA.
Earlier this year, CIT worked with Amp on its NY2 portfolio, 40 MW over five projects. On the most recent transaction, executive vice president and head of USA for Amp said, “We were pleased to again leverage CIT’s Industry Knowledge and experience to finance this project.”
Amp was founded in 2009, and is headquartered in nearby Toronto, Canada. To date, the company has developed or purchased more than 6 GW of renewable energy.
