Part of solar farm at Indianapolis International Airport sold in $24M deal

Part of a massive solar farm at the Indianapolis International Airport was acquired this month by New York-based CleanCapital as part of a $24 million acquisition, the company announced this week.

CleanCapital bought a 13.2 megawatt solar portfolio from General Energy Solutions USA Inc., which included a portion of the Indianapolis airport solar farm, along with one in Columbus, Ohio.

The Indianapolis solar farm was first constructed in 2013, using about 75 acres and containing more than 44,000 panels. An expansion of the site in 2014 brought the farm to 151 acres and 76,000 solar photovoltaic panels. In all, the farm produces 31.7 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually—enough to power about 3,200 homes.

The project sits on land leased from the Indianapolis Airport Authority and, at the time of its completion, was the largest airport solar farm in the world.

GES said CleanCapital acquired the Phase I portion of the farm, which includes 44,000 solar panels that can produce around 17 million kilowatt hours of power annually, enough to support the yearly demand of electricity for 2,000 households.

CleanCapital's purchase was the company’s highest-capacity acquisition in its history.

“This most recent acquisition again affirms the robust investor appetite for these assets,” CleanCapital CEO Thomas Byrne said in a written statement. “CleanCapital remains committed to growing institutional investment in all sectors of the clean energy market via our cutting-edge platform.”

The investment is a continuation of a year-long effort by CleanCapital that has seen the company spend more than $300 million to acquire 100 megawatts of solar farms across the United States. The investment was made through its $250 million partnership with CarVal Investors.

CleanCapital owns and operates 108 solar farms in 11 states and has partnerships with a variety of institutional investors and major corporations for the use of the energy.