GEF Capital has partnered with a solar energy veteran to launch Civic Renewables as a new platform company.
Civic Renewables will acquire local solar energy companies in order to construct a national network of clean energy businesses. To date, the platform has closed the acquisitions of two local solar installation businesses including Pittsburgh-headquartered Green Rack Solar which specializes in residential solar installations in Western Pennsylvania and Ohio; and Washington DC-headquartered Ipsun Solar which specializes in residential and commercial solar installations across Northern Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland.
Leading the Civic platform as CEO is Lee Keshishian, a former regional vice president at Solar City, which was acquired by Tesla for $2.65 billion in 2016. After the acquisition, he became Solar City’s vice president of energy operations, managing the company’s East Coast solar installations unit, which had over $500 million in revenues.
“Providing local solar companies with the tools to thrive is the key to accelerating solar adoption nationwide,” said Lee Keshishian, the founder and CEO of Civic Renewables. “Providing local solar businesses the tools to thrive is the key to accelerating solar adoption nationwide. Green Rack and Ipsun are fantastic local companies that deliver the highest quality installations and service in their market. We’ve founded Civic Renewables to support these exact types of great local businesses and allow them to flourish.”
According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, the residential solar market in the United States is projected to have an average annual growth rate of 10% between 2025 and 2028 driven by higher utility electricity rates and reduced borrowing costs.
“We are excited to partner with Civic Renewables in their efforts to support local solar businesses and accelerate clean energy solutions,” said Stuart Barkoff, a co-founder and managing partner of GEF Capital. “Their mission to speed the clean energy transition by empowering local solar will help people transition towards less expensive forms of renewable energy. We have great confidence in the Civic Renewables team’s ability to lead this charge and build this new business model.”
GEF Capital invests in North America-based lower middle-market companies that have developed solutions to address climate change and pollution mitigation in the clean energy, energy efficiency, waste, water and resource efficiency sectors. In April 2024, GEF closed GEF US Climate Solutions Fund II LP with $325 million of capital commitments exceeding the fund’s original $250 million target.
GEF Capital was founded in 2018 and has offices in Arlington, Virginia; São Paulo, Brazil; and Mumbai, India.
© 2024 Private Equity Professional | June 18, 2024
