Key Takeaways
- Operational capacity almost doubled, supporting substantial production and revenue increases.
- Fleet expanded by more than 100 new assets, representing an additional 1.5 gigawatts.
- Investments nearly doubled in value.
- Company’s net assets reached a record high, surpassing $1.5 billion.
- Acquisitions expanded energy storage portfolio into a new segment: battery assets in development.
- Company’s investments continued to support carbon abatement, water conservation, and green jobs.
NEW YORK, May 18, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC (“Greenbacker,” “GREC,” or the “Company”), a leading owner and operator of sustainable infrastructure and energy efficiency projects, has announced financial results for the first quarter of 2022. Year-over-year trends—comparing the first quarter of 2022 with the first quarter of 2021—showed considerable growth across fleet size, production, revenue, and portfolio value.1 The Company also announced it had entered a new area of the energy storage market, expanding its operational standalone battery storage portfolio to include storage assets in development.
Operational capacity almost doubled, supporting substantial production and revenue increases
The power-generation capacity of Greenbacker’s operating fleet nearly doubled, growing 85% on a year-over-year basis. The Company added 504 megawatts (MW) of operational assets, moving under-construction projects into commercial operation and acquiring new operating projects.
This capacity growth enabled the Company’s fleet of clean energy projects to produce over half a million megawatt-hours (MWh) of total power during the first quarter of 2022, representing a 56% year-over-year increase.
Greenbacker’s total quarterly revenue from the sale of renewable energy and renewable energy credits topped $34.8 million, an increase of 70% from the first quarter of 2021. (For precise figures, please see Appendix at the end of this release).
Fleet expanded by more than 100 new assets, representing an additional 1.5 gigawatts
Since the end of the first quarter of 2021, Greenbacker added 111 net new assets to its fleet of renewable energy projects, expanding the Company’s total project count to over 400.2
These assets added over 1.2 gigawatts (GW) of clean power–generating capacity to the fleet, which now exceeds 2.6 GW, an increase of 94%. (This figure includes both operating and pre-operational assets.)
The new projects also expanded Greenbacker’s geographical footprint, with assets in six additional states: Illinois, Ohio, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. As of the end of the quarter, GREC was conducting business in 32 states, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Washington DC.
Investments nearly doubled in value
The fair value3 of Greenbacker’s investments4 increased 94% year over year, topping $1.5 billion at the end of the period.
The Company deployed $183.9 million of capital into new or existing investments during the first quarter of 2022, a year-over-year increase of 8.3%.
Company’s net assets reached a record high, surpassing $1.5 billion
Greenbacker raised $104.6 million of new equity capital during the first quarter, boosting the Company’s net assets5 to over $1.5 billion. This is a year-over-year increase of 55%.
Charles Wheeler, CEO of Greenbacker, said:
“We continue to build out our presence in the renewable energy asset class. We recently announced our first development-stage assets in the energy storage space, a sector critical to grid resilience. This expansion enables us to deliver more clean power to consumers and greater value for our investors.”
Acquisitions expanded energy storage portfolio into a new segment: battery assets in development
During the quarter, GREC announced it had closed an acquisition that included three portfolios: one pre-operational energy storage portfolio in New York City and two community solar portfolios in Illinois and Maine.
The New York City acquisition is Greenbacker’s first in a new market segment. The Company’s operational battery storage portfolio now includes its first two assets in development. Once complete, the pair of standalone battery storage projects on Staten Island will have a total power capacity of 10 MW and be able to store up to 40 MWh of energy.
At least 50% of the customer base for the 12 MW community solar portfolio in Illinois will be allocated to small subscribers, contributing to more equitable access to renewable energy. The projects will also provide income to local landowners through long-term land leases.
The three solar projects in the Maine portfolio are each preapproved for the state’s Net Energy Billing program (capped in early 2021), which encourages renewables use by allowing consumers to offset their electric bills by the net amount of clean energy they generate on their property or use from community systems.
Company’s investments continued to support carbon abatement, water conservation, and green jobs
Greenbacker’s investment activities continued to deliver on ESG metrics. As of March 31, 2022, the cumulative amount of clean energy generated by the Company’s fleet increased to nearly 4.3 million MWh, abating over 3.0 million metric tons of carbon since 2016.6
The Company’s renewable energy projects have saved over 2.8 billion gallons of water,7 compared to the amount of water needed to produce the same amount of power from burning coal. The business activities of the fleet will sustain over 4,700 green jobs.8
David Sher, Director of Greenbacker, said:
“Our mission is to empower a sustainable world by connecting individuals with investments in clean energy. We expect market conditions will remain favorable to our investment strategy, particularly given the renewed focus on the climate crisis at the federal and state levels, as well as across corporate America.”
Appendix – GREC Portfolio and Financial Metrics1
| 1Q22 | 1Q21 | |||
| Total energy produced (MWh) | 505,667 | 324,470 | ||
| Total revenue from the sale of energy and renewable energy credits (millions) | $34.8 | $20.5 | ||
| Total number of fleet assets at end of period | 404 | 293 | ||
| Total power-generating capacity of fleet at end of period | 2.6 GW | 1.4 GW | ||
| Total capital deployed (millions) | $183.9 | $169.8 | ||
| Fair value3 of investments in controlled and non-controlled projects (millions) | $1,518.5 | $784.4 | ||
| Net asset value5 (millions) at end of period | $1,539.6 | $994.9 | ||
About Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company
Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC is a publicly reporting, non-traded limited liability sustainable infrastructure company that acquires and manages income-producing renewable energy and other energy-related businesses, including solar and wind farms. We seek to invest in high-quality projects that sell clean power under long-term contract to high-creditworthy counterparties such as utilities, municipalities, and corporations. We are long-term owner-operators, who strive to be good stewards of the land and responsible members of the communities in which we operate. We believe our focus on power production and income generation creates value that we can then pass on to our shareholders—while facilitating the transition toward a clean energy future. For more information, please visit www.greenbackercapital.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the actual results to differ materially from those anticipated at the time the forward-looking statements are made. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the “Risk Factors” section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and in subsequently filed periodic reports that we file with the SEC. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that the expectations will be attained or that any deviation will not be material. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement contained herein to conform to actual results or changes in the Company’s expectations.
General Disclosure
This information has been prepared solely for informational purposes and is not an offer to buy or sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any security, or to participate in any trading or investment strategy. The information presented herein may involve Greenbacker’s views, estimates, assumptions, facts, and information from other sources that are believed to be accurate and reliable and are, as of the date this information is presented, subject to change without notice.
Greenbacker media contact
Chris Larson
Senior Writer & Media Communications
847.313.0935
c.larson@greenbackercapital.com
1 The financial and portfolio metrics set forth herein are unaudited and subject to change. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
2 Total assets and megawatts statistics include those projects where the Company has contracted for the acquisition of the project pursuant to a Membership Interest Purchase Agreement (“MIPA”).
3 Fair value figures reflect the fair value of the asset type as reported in GREC’s annual and/or quarterly financial statements as filed with the SEC. The quarterly figures are unaudited and subject to change.
4 This includes both controlled and non-controlled projects, as of March 31, 2022. Controlled investments are defined as investments in companies in which the Company owns 25% or more of the voting securities of such company, has greater than 50% representation on such company’s Board of Directors, or are investments in limited liability companies for which the Company serves as managing member. Non-controlled investments consist of secured loans.
5 Net asset value is reflected in GREC’s annual and/or quarterly financial statements as filed with the SEC. Quarterly figures are unaudited and subject to change.
6 When compared with a similar amount of power generation from fossil fuels. Carbon abatement is calculated using the EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator which uses the AVoided Emissions and geneRation Tool (AVERT) US national weighted average CO2 marginal emission rate to convert reductions of kilowatt-hours into avoided units of carbon dioxide emissions.
7 Gallons of water saved are calculated based on Operational water consumption and withdrawal factors for electricity generating technologies: a review of existing literature - IOPscience, J Macknick et al 2012 Environ. Res. Lett. 7 045802.
8 Green jobs calculations are sourced from both the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Energy Analysis and the US Energy Information Administration’s Independent Statistics & Analysis.
