Durham-based Leyline Renewable Capital (Leyline), a leading provider of capital solutions for renewable energy developers, is pleased to announce a partnership with Solterra Energy (Solterra), formerly Solterra Partners LLC, to provide $10 million in early-stage growth and development capital to support up to 1GW of distributed generation (DG) and utility-scale solar energy projects across the eastern United States.
While a variety of solar financing options exist for large companies and de-risked project portfolios, early-stage developers have lacked a route to funding without the cost of losing equity in their company. Leyline takes an innovative approach with unique, non-dilutive financing solutions so founders keep control of their company.
“Leyline’s funding was really attractive because it gives us autonomy,” said Dennis Richter, President of Solterra. “This allows us to grow a core team of experienced people to deliver quality projects.”
Solterra plans to use the funding from Leyline for both project-related expenses and working capital costs for the company. Their portfolio is expected to include utility-scale solar projects within Southeastern US, PJM and MISO service territories that should be operational prior to 2030.
“Solar energy is critical to our green energy future, but developers often can’t get the funding needed cover their growth needs, and project expenses like site control, interconnection fees, and other development costs,” said Erik Lensch, CEO of Leyline. “By partnering with Solterra, we can support a new venture and ensure their portfolio moves forward to eventually deliver carbon-free power.”
In addition to the funding commitment, Leyline brings project development expertise in the form of on-call development support for Solterra. The leadership team will contribute more than 30 years of hands-on development experience to the investment.
“Leyline has expertise that we would not necessarily hire in house. They can help bridge the gap before hiring a consultant,” added Richter. “By working with Leyline for our capital needs we get an experienced and seasoned partner who will provide expertise throughout the development process beyond what we could bring in house.”