June 21, 2017 - Cranbury, NJ
SunLight General Capital is pleased to announce the purchase by its Solar Fund III of a 5.7 MW solar system located on four rooftops in Cranbury, New Jersey. The system, which comprises 20,496 individual solar panels and covers approximate one million square feet of roof space, sells power directly to the PSE&G electricity grid. At the time that it was built, the system was one of the largest single solar facilities in the country.
In addition to purchasing the asset, SunLight also refinanced the debt of the project at a favorable rate, improving the economics of the system.
Installing panels at the site enabled the system host to monetize a previously unutilized asset. “Traditionally the only purpose of the roof was to keep the building dry and secure,” a spokesman stated at the time. “The company plans to own its buildings for decades. And when your capital is tied up in immobile assets for long periods of time, you want to make the best possible use of it. Most real estate owners can maximize revenues by renting out every inch of usable space at all times. But if you can find a way to produce an alternate revenue stream from the same building, it’s gravy.”
Ed Klehe, SunLight’s Chief Investment Officer, added that, “We are pleased to bring the Cranbury project into our growing portfolio of photovoltaic assets. We were able to offer an attractive exit to the previous owners who were looking to be relieved from the operational burden of managing this asset, while providing our investors very attractive, long-term, risk-adjusted returns. This was our first, but certainly not our last, foray into wholesale grid-connected solar assets and the opportunity was a great fit for us given our strong regional footprint, including our local Operation and Maintenance platform. ”
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