Big Buyer of U.S. Solar Farms Bets on Smaller Installations

(Bloomberg) -- A big buyer of large U.S. clean-power plants is betting on smaller solar projects.

Capital Dynamics, an asset manager that handles more than $16 billion, is investing in the development arm of solar company Sol Systems, according to a statement Tuesday. The partnership is looking to develop more than 100 megawatts of projects for commercial, municipal and educational customers annually, said Yuri Horwitz, Sol Systems’s chief executive officer. Terms of the arrangement weren’t disclosed.

The projects range in size from single-megawatt rooftop projects on retail buildings to more than 10 megawatts for universities, Horwitz said.

The joint venture comes as California and other states commit to rid their grids of emissions and as more and more businesses, cities and schools look to power operations from clean energy. That’s leading to a surge in smaller solar projects, including for municipal and educational campuses.

“It’s a growth story,” said Tim Short, managing director at Capital Dynamics, in an interview. “It’s not just an opportunity today, but will be one going forward.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Eckhouse in New York at beckhouse@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lynn Doan at ldoan6@bloomberg.net, Reg Gale, Pratish Narayanan

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