SPI continues its buying spree with New Jersey solar project

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SPI has been on a buying spree this year, buying projects and plants all over the world.

Mark Anderson

Staff Writer- Sacramento Business Journal

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SPI Solar Inc. on Friday said it has bought development rights for a 10-megawatt solar project in New Jersey.

The transaction is expected to close before the end of the year. The price was not disclosed.

Roseville-based SPI (OTCBB:SOPW) SPI develops, builds, owns and operates solar arrays.

The company is buying from Shotmeyer Solar LLC its ownership of Beaver Run Solar Farm LLC, which has obtained development approvals for a solar array in Lafayette, N.J. SPI also acquired a long-term ground lease with Shotmeyer Solar for the land under the project.

Construction on Beaver Run is expected to begin early next year and be completed by the fourth quarter of 2015. SPI will own and operate the facility.

New Jersey in 2003 adopted a clean-energy program that offers financial incentives for installing renewable energy technologies such as solar, wind and sustainable biomass. The state in 2012 passed the Solar Act, which adds even more incentives and also creates incentives to develop solar on brownfields and properly closed former landfills.

New Jersey in 2013 ranked 5th in the nation in solar installations, with 235.6 megawatts installed that year. California ranked first in installations in 2013, with 2.7 gigawatts installed in that year. Solar power growth has been accelerating in recent years.

New Jersey has more than a gigawatt of solar generation, and ranks as the third state nationwide with total solar installed.

SPI has been on a buying spree this year, buying projects and plants all over the world. It has been a striking turnaround for a company that was struggling just last year.

Mark Anderson covers technology, agriculture, banking and finance, venture capital, energy, mining and hospitality for the Sacramento Business Journal.