MOUNTAIN IRON, Minn., Sept. 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Heliene Inc., a customer-first provider of North American-made solar PV modules, today announced the sale of approximately $50M Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credit (45X credits). The transaction was facilitated by Basis Climate, a leading facilitator of clean energy tax credit transfers.
Heliene is able to claim eligibility for these tax credits under the guidelines of the Inflation Reduction Act’s Section 45X credits. Heliene manufactures high-quality, U.S.-made solar modules that feature a high volume of domestically-sourced components at its existing factory in Mountain Iron, Minnesota. The company is now building a new module factory in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metro-area, with a planned start up of May 2025.
“Monetising our 45X tax credits through this sale is instrumental in continuing the growth of Heliene's domestic manufacturing capacity,” said Martin Pochtaruk, CEO of Heliene, Inc. "This transaction provides long term sustainability, hence enabling us to expand our commitment to offering developers reliable, quality modules that feature the highest possible volume of domestic content. We’re grateful to the team at Basis Climate for facilitating this important deal. Together we’re building a stronger, bankable U.S. solar supply chain."
This deal is believed to be among the first within the solar manufacturing industry. Heliene will use funds from this sale to reduce debt and support ongoing efforts to expand its U.S. cell and module manufacturing footprint and grow its domestic, clean energy workforce.
“Congrats to Heliene and Basis Climate for closing this transaction, which we believe is a testament to the strength of the Heliene business and the resiliency of the 45x manufacturing tax credit framework,” said Ethan Shoemaker, Partner and head of the Infrastructure Credit platform at OIC, who led an investment into Heliene in Spring 2023. “We continue to be impressed by Martin and his team, who are leading the charge for the domestic solar industry through consistent execution, innovation, and creativity.”
"We are proud to have participated in this landmark deal for Heliene and the domestic solar industry more broadly. Basis supported Heliene in the sale of their 45X credits to a profitable domestic manufacturer. This was an all-American transaction," noted Erik Underwood, Basis Climate’s CEO. He continued, “we used visual language models to help review thousands of supporting documents to substantiate these tax credits. We look forward to applying learnings to many more deals to come.”
This tax credit transfer sale follows several months of strategic dealflow completed by Heliene, which is focused on bolstering its domestic manufacturing footprint and shoring up the U.S. solar supply chain. This included a strategic sourcing agreement with cell manufacturer Suniva, a partnership and multi-year contract with Norsun for the supply of U.S.-made wafers, and a joint venture with Premier Energies to jointly build a U.S.-based solar cell manufacturing facility.
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 consistently ranks as a highly bankable module manufacturer and has production facilities located in Canada, and the USA. For more information, visit www.heliene.com.
Media inquiries:
Carly Ross
FischTank PR
heliene@fischtankpr.com
About Basis Climate
Basis Climate is a leading facilitator of clean energy tax credit transfers, providing a seamless and efficient platform for businesses and individuals to monetize their tax credits generated from renewable energy projects. The company's mission is to unlock the full potential of clean energy tax credits by connecting credit generators with motivated buyers, ultimately accelerating the transition to a clean and sustainable future. By leveraging technology and standardized diligence and transaction processes, Basis is able to support the full range of clean energy tax credits established by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
