Eagle Creek Renewable Energy Acquires Lightstar Renewables
Bethesda, MD, March 19, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — An affiliate of Eagle Creek Renewable Energy (“Eagle Creek”) has acquired Lightstar Renewables, a community solar developer and owner and operator of community solar farms in the United States.
Lightstar is a portfolio company of funds managed by Elda River Capital Management LLC and Magnetar. The company has approximately 30 megawatts of projects under-construction in New York and a development pipeline of approximately 1.2 gigawatts across multiple markets in the U.S. Lightstar was founded by a seasoned team of solar developers and is a leading greenfield developer in the community solar development industry.
Under Eagle Creek’s ownership, Lightstar’s experienced leadership team will execute on its growth plans to become a premier community solar independent power producer (IPP) in North America. Lightstar will transition its full development pipeline, including fully owned assets and projects under construction, to Eagle Creek.
KeyBanc Capital Markets acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Lightstar on the transaction.
Quotes
“We are pleased to add Lightstar’s clean energy assets and development capabilities to the Eagle Creek portfolio,” said Neal Simmons, President and CEO of Eagle Creek. “Through our ongoing operations and acquisitions, Eagle Creek is playing a key role in driving the transition to a clean energy economy.”
“It has been a privilege to partner with the Lightstar management team and support the company’s growth objectives over the past four years,” said Eric Scheyer, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Elda River. “Following Lightstar’s acquisition by Eagle Creek, we believe the business is well-positioned to further advance its project pipeline and development plan.”
“The Elda River and Magnetar teams have been great partners for Lightstar and instrumental in supporting the growth of our company,” says Paul Wheeler, Lightstar’s Founder and CEO. “We look forward to continuing our work in our exciting next chapter with Eagle Creek and its affiliates OPG and believe our mutual alignment and similarly held views on the long-term growth of the community solar sector make this transaction extremely attractive for all stakeholders.”
About Eagle Creek
Eagle Creek Renewable Energy was founded in 2010 to acquire, enhance, and operate small hydroelectric power facilities. Eagle Creek’s affiliates currently own and operate 84 hydroelectric facilities representing 691 megawatts of capacity across the United States. Eagle Creek also has minority ownership interests equivalent to approximately 12 megawatts in 14 other hydroelectric facilities and a solar facility in New England. Eagle Creek is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ontario Power Generation, one of the largest, most diverse power generators in North America.