Nationwide and Sol Systems Acquire Largest Solar Project in Louisiana
50 MW solar project fuels economic and environmental resilience
Washington, D.C. – Today, Helios Infrastructure (Helios), a joint venture between Nationwide and Sol Systems, announced its acquisition of the largest solar power project in Louisiana. The 50-megawatt (MW) system is located in West Baton Rouge Parish, and it is now owned and operated by Helios. This acquisition marks the largest single project investment for Helios to date. Entergy Louisiana is purchasing the energy produced by the project through a 20-year power purchase agreement.
“This is an important day for Nationwide as this project is a continuation of our broader effort, focused on ESG-related investments,” Solar Equity Portfolio Manager Clark Lloyd said. “Sourcing projects that focus on clean energy and a sustainable future is not only a win for the community, but it allows us to fulfill our mission of protecting people, businesses and futures with extraordinary care.”
The project brought more than 350 construction and installation jobs to the area, and it will provide ongoing, positive benefits to the community – clean energy and approximately $6.4 million in tax revenue – over the next 30 years. The system is projected to offset the equivalent of nearly 19,000 passenger vehicles’ greenhouse gas emissions annually.
“This is a resilience story, and an indicator that clean energy will play a significant role in the recovery of the region and our nation,” said Jessica Robbins, Senior Director, Structured Finance for Sol Systems. “The impacts of the pandemic have put us to the test, and we have an even greater appreciation for partners like Nationwide and Entergy. Partnerships like these are essential to provide hope and to jumpstart the recovery of our communities and economy,” she added.
Sol Systems and Nationwide have financed over $700 million of U.S. solar projects since 2012. The partners created Helios in 2018 to own and operate an expanding portfolio of utility-scale assets that sell energy to utilities, municipal customers, and universities. Today, Helios owns and operates over 300 MW of commercial and utility-scale solar energy assets throughout the United States.
Entergy has built out a power generating portfolio among the cleanest in the nation. Entergy Louisiana has approximately 190 MW of renewable energy resources, including hydroelectric, biomass and waste heat recovery. In all, over the past two years more than 25% of the energy provided to Entergy Louisiana customers has come from carbon-free sources.
DEPCOM Power provided the engineering, construction and operations and maintenance services for the project.
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Related News:
- 9/1/20: Nationwide and Sol Systems venture, Helios Infrastructure, purchases 47 MW Texas portfolio amid 2020 challenges
- 8/19/20: Nationwide and Sol Systems venture completes final sale with Cypress Creek in 148 MW master purchase agreement
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Nationwide, a Fortune 100 company based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest and strongest diversified insurance and financial services organizations in the United States. Nationwide is rated A+ by both A.M. Best and Standard & Poor’s. An industry leader in driving customer-focused innovation, Nationwide provides a full range of insurance and financial services products including auto, business, homeowners, farm and life insurance; public and private sector retirement plans, annuities and mutual funds; excess & surplus, specialty and surety; pet, motorcycle and boat insurance. For more information, visit www.nationwide.com. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
About Sol Systems
Sol Systems is a leading national solar energy firm with an established reputation for integrity and reliability across its development, infrastructure and environmental commodity businesses. To date, Sol has developed and/or financed over 1 GW of solar projects valued at more than $1 billion for Fortune 100 companies, municipalities, counties, utilities, universities and schools. The company also actively shapes and trades in environmental commodity and electricity markets throughout the United States. The company was founded in 2008, is based in Washington, D.C., and is led by its founder. Sol Systems works with its team, partners, and clients to create a more sustainable future we can all believe in. For more information, visit https://www.solsystems.com/.
About Entergy Louisiana, LLC
Entergy Louisiana, LLC provides electric service to more than 1 million customers and natural gas service to more than 93,000 customers in the greater Baton Rouge area. It has operations in southern, central and northern Louisiana. The company is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation, an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including 8,000 megawatts of nuclear power. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.9 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of $11 billion and approximately 13,600 employees. For more information about Entergy Louisiana, visit www.entergylouisiana.com.