Nationwide and Sol Systems venture completes final sale with Cypress Creek in 148 MW master purchase agreement

WASHINGTON, D.C. – August 20, 2020 – Today, Helios Infrastructure (Helios), a joint venture between Nationwide and Sol Systems, announced the completion of its project purchase from Cypress Creek Renewables. The $200+ million portfolio spans 20 projects across North Carolina, of which 97 MW are operational and 51 MW are under construction.

Since 2012, Nationwide and Sol Systems have financed over $700 million of solar projects throughout the United States. The portfolio is primarily composed of utility-scale assets selling energy to utilities, municipal customers, and universities. Today, Helios leverages the origination, underwriting and asset management resources the two partners have established.

“Helios was created with a vision of developing and owning solar projects,” Nationwide Investments Solar Equity Portfolio Manager Clark Lloyd said. “We look forward to seeing the positive environmental and economic benefits these projects will bring to the communities they serve.”

In June 2018, Helios and Cypress Creek executed a framework agreement to purchase a portfolio of utility-scale solar projects under development by Cypress Creek. Since the agreement was announced, Helios has purchased and closed financing on the projects in the portfolio on a rolling basis. Helios and Cypress Creek completed the sale of the final 25 MW in the portfolio on July 31, 2020.

“With Nationwide and Sol Systems, we have developed a valuable, multi-year partnership around our shared mission of powering a sustainable future and investing in the North Carolina communities,” said Cassidy DeLine, Vice President of Project Finance, Cypress Creek Renewables. “The complexities inherent in a portfolio with this number of projects require a partner like Helios at the table.”

“We value our partnership with Nationwide, as well as the opportunity to build on a long history of successful transactions with the Cypress Creek team, beginning with tax equity investments in 2015 and culminating in the completion of this master purchase,” said Jessica Robbins, Senior Director, Structured Finance, Sol Systems.

The 51 MW of projects under construction will create clean, renewable electricity that will benefit 20 counties and 12,000 homes per year in North Carolina, while offsetting approximately 150,000 tons of carbon annually (On a general scale, 1 MW can power 164 average homes, but can vary depending on regional differences).

Cypress Creek’s Engineering and Project Management group is overseeing the construction by Pure Power Contractors and CS Energy, which is targeting a placed-in-service date of December 2020. Upon completion, Cypress Creek O&M Services will provide operations and maintenance for the entire 20 project portfolio.

The largest project in the portfolio is Ruff, a 32MW solar site located in Ellenboro, N.C. The project was placed in service on July 27, 2020.