Grasshopper Solar, a global developer and asset owner headquartered in Canada, announced this week its acquisition of a 278 MWdc portfolio of solar projects from Glidepath Ventures, a leading clean energy-focused development and investment firm headquartered in Ardmore, Pa.
“Part of our investment strategy in the United States is to continue expanding into markets with local partnerships to further promote the development of renewable energy in these jurisdictions,” Grasshopper’s Chief Development Officer Jonathan Persaud said. “We are excited to be entering the PJM market, which we believe has stable characteristics for ongoing solar development. These projects will provide environmental and economic benefits, while promoting more job opportunities for the American people in the state of Pennsylvania.”
Pennsylvania, which serves as the location for all of the portfolio projects, has roughly 475 megawatts of solar currently installed. Once operational, the portfolio project will nearly double the amount of solar assets in the state.
Glidepath Ventures originated the distributed generation portfolio, which includes 12 total projects, between 2017 and 2019. Under its transaction with Grasshopper, the companies will complete development, interconnection, and permitting with expected commercial operation dates in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
While Grasshopper purchased the portfolio for an undisclosed amount, the company stated that it will lead funding on the projects and has committed more than $300 million to the portfolio.
In addition to its portfolio sale to Grasshopper, Glidepath announced at the end of February the sale of another four projects, totaling 887 megawatts, to an unnamed independent power producer.
Geoff Underwood, a partner at Glidepath Ventures, said the company is particularly drawn to geographies with little political interference, which protects the market from drying up if government incentives do.
“We didn’t want to move into a program or require government or regulatory action to make a project viable,” Underwood said. “Pennsylvania was our entry point for testing out this thesis.”