AES buys Community Energy Solar to bolster renewables portfolio

AES Corp. has expanded its renewables portfolio with the acquisition of U.S. solar developer Community Energy Solar LLC, the company said Monday.

The acquisition of Community Energy will bolster AES’s efforts to expand its renewable energy capacity, with its strong pipeline and skilled development workforce. To date, AES has signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) to deliver 4 gigawatts (GW) of renewables in the United States this year alone.  AES’s U.S. renewables portfolio now includes 4.4 GW of operating assets and 5.7 GW of signed PPAs.

“AES has experienced tremendous growth in renewables in the U.S. this year, placing it among the leading renewables players in the country. Community Energy has built a top reputation over the last 20 years for its ability to successfully develop renewables projects,” Leo Moreno, AES Clean Energy president, said. “The addition of Community Energy and its 10 GW pipeline to AES will complement our efforts to deliver highly innovative products to customers with a strong pipeline that now totals more than 40 GW across the country and an industry-leading development team to advance projects. Together, we’ll continue to work towards our vision for a net-zero energy future.”

Community Energy, based in Radnor, Pa., and Boulder, Colo., has been involved in renewables development for 20 years. Community Energy has developed more than 3 GW of solar and storage projects. It also opened the market for utility-scale solar as the first to develop a 100 MW scale project in seven states.

“Community Energy launched its solar business with a mission to commercialize utility-scale solar and decarbonize the grid, and we delivered by developing about 5% of all utility-scale solar built in U.S. to date. Driven by the urgency of the climate crisis and the need for 10x growth in solar over the next decade, we decided it was time to amplify our impact by joining forces with a world-class partner,” Brent Beerley, Community Energy CEO, said.  “AES is the ideal partner for us because of their conviction on climate, their industry-leading innovation and most importantly, their people. Having worked closely with the AES team over the past several years, we have found a deep alignment on values and culture, which was essential to us. I am beyond grateful to our team, our board and AES for this opportunity.”