Solar real estate investment fund SolaREIT will now have more capital at its disposal, as it closed a $100 million securitization with Nuveen. SolaREIT offers land financing options, headlined by its pre-paid solar land lease, which offers immediate lease payment to landowners for siting projects on their property.
The company works directly with landowners and developers to provide liquidity for land under operating solar assets, while offering fixed, stable revenues to investors. Its pre-paid leases are another product offering that provides near-term liquidity to landowners while maintaining the long-term ownership of the land within their family.
SolaREIT also works in agrivoltaics, co-locating farming and other agricultural uses with solar facilities.
( Read: “Agrivoltaics clearinghouse launches to share info on matching solar with farming”)
“Community and commercial solar is in real need of increased financial options and access to more capital,” said Gautam Chandra, managing director of SolaREIT. “This investment confirms the strong interest from the largest and most progressive institutional investors in this sector.”
The pre-paid land lease was introduced in May 2021. Landowners can be paid upfront for between 10-30 years of payments.
“The mid-sized and commercial solar sector has been underserved for years but holds tremendous promise”, said Chris Miller, managing director of Nuveen, “Increasing capital flexibility into this segment can have a significant impact on the market growth of solar, and ESG focused investments such as SolaREIT can help create value for our clients today and preserve value for tomorrow’s world.”
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates solar could cover as much as 3 million acres by 2030, creating a large market opportunity for real estate investment firms like SolaREIT.
