Altus Power, Inc., a leading clean electrification company, and Heliene Inc., a customer-first provider of North American made solar modules, announced a strategic partnership to support solar module manufacturing in the United States.
Under the terms of a three-year strategic supply agreement, Altus Power will have the option to purchase up to 250 MW of high efficiency solar modules from Heliene, securing Altus Power reliable access to domestically manufactured high performance solar modules for use in construction of solar generation projects across the U.S. At a time of supply chain bottlenecks and trade volatility, which challenge the U.S. industry’s ability to meet rapidly growing solar demand, this agreement is designed to enable Altus Power to continue to deliver commercial, industrial, and community solar projects with the added value of Made in America solar PV modules.
In connection with the execution of the multi-year supply agreement, Altus Power has committed to invest up to US$5 million in Heliene as part of that company’s anticipated initial public capital raise in connection with its proposed reverse take-over transaction with Buzz Capital 2 Ltd. and listing on the TSX Venture Exchange.
“Many U.S. solar developers are currently facing supply and trade volatility risks, causing potential project delays,” said Martin Pochtaruk, CEO of Heliene. “We are pleased to partner with our customer Altus Power to help them develop the projects in their pipeline with confidence, as it’s our mission to accelerate North America’s clean energy transition. Altus Power’s proposed investment in Heliene enables us to better capitalize on growing demand for domestic solar products and make good on our commitment to generate more well-paying manufacturing jobs in the U.S.”
Heliene’s modules are to be produced at the company’s recently expanded manufacturing facility in Mountain Iron, Minnesota. These modules utilize the latest super high-efficiency monocrystalline PERC cells, which reduce cell-to-module losses through their half cut design, and are proven to withstand weather and mechanical stresses. Serving the utility-scale, commercial & industrial (C&I), and residential markets, Heliene has three production facilities located in the U.S. and Canada, which are expected to total 900 MW of total manufacturing capacity and are planned to be online by Q3 of 2022.
“We are excited to be entering into this strategic partnership with Heliene. Domestic made equipment and materials are becoming an increasingly important component of our procurement efforts and this supply certainty will be significant to our total module requirements,” said Tony Savino, Co-Founder and Chief Construction Officer of Altus Power. “Altus Power is the only public, vertically integrated, C&I focused clean electrification company, and we build, own, and operate hundreds of commercial and industrial scale solar projects across the United States. Many components go into the design and buildout of these solar systems, and having a reliable, steady supply of solar modules is critical to our growth strategy. We look forward to continuing to partner with manufacturers of various solar system components, to enable Altus Power to maintain our leadership position in empowering communities and enterprises to transition to renewable energy.”
About Altus Power
Altus Power, based in Stamford, Connecticut, is the nation’s premier clean electrification company. Altus Power serves its commercial, industrial, public sector and community solar customers by developing, owning and operating locally sited solar generation, energy storage, and EV charging infrastructure across 18 states from Vermont to Hawaii.
About Heliene
Heliene is one of North America’s fastest-growing domestic module manufacturers serving the utility-scale, commercial, and residential markets. With an in-house logistics team and remarkably responsive support staff, Heliene delivers competitively priced, high performance solar modules precisely when and where customers need them to accelerate North America’s clean energy transition. Founded in 2010, Heliene is recognized as a highly bankable Tier 1 module manufacturer and has production facilities located in Ontario, Minnesota and Florida.
