Independent power producer (IPP) CleanCapital has acquired a 27MW solar and 25MWh battery storage portfolio across Massachusetts and California, from Pacifico Energy.
The portfolio is comprised of two of Massachusetts’ Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) solar and energy storage assets and four behind-the-meter (BTM) solar and energy storage assets in California.
The SMART Program encourages the growth of solar energy by offering guaranteed additional payments to system owners, based on the electricity produced by community solar initiatives or behind-the-meter systems.
Utilities distribute these payments, which supplement income from subscriber energy fees, helping to ensure that system operators remain financially secure while providing savings to participants.
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CleanCapital says the energy generated from the Massachusetts assets is supplied to local energy subscribers through the SMART programme.
The California assets have power purchase agreements (PPAs) with municipalities, universities, schools and hospitals (MUSH) and commercial and industrial (C&I) offtakers.
In 2019, BlackRock’s renewable arm bought a stake in CleanCapital after supporting the company with acquiring a portfolio of 60 solar projects in California, Massachusetts and New Jersey.
In 2021, CleanCapital received US$300 million in funding from Manulife Investment Management to provide “long-term, flexible capital” to energy storage developers.
That year, the company also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Stem Inc to establish a financing partnership for US energy storage projects of 30MW or less.
Tokyo-headquartered Pacifico was, in 2023, ranked by Rystad Energy as Japan’s most prolific developer.
Founded in 2012, the company established its battery storage division in 2021 to leverage the technology’s potential in Japan’s market.
Currently, the company operates a solar-plus-storage project in Massachusetts. Part of the SMART programme, the Bernardston Community Solar Project is located in Franklin County, Massachusetts.
The project features 6.7MWh of battery capacity and went into commercial operations in December 2024.
Julia Bell, chief investment officer at CleanCapital of the recently acquired portfolio:
“The acquisition of this portfolio marks a significant milestone for CleanCapital as we continue to expand our footprint in key U.S. markets and deepen our investment into middle market distributed generation.”
