United Wind Secures $13.5M Financing for Major Expansion of its WindLease Program
Leading renewable energy investors, U.S. Bank and New York Green Bank partner with United Wind to expand its market leading distributed wind energy financing program
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Colin Mahoney
Mahoney Communications Group
colin@mahoneycommunications.com
212-220-6045
Brooklyn, NY – October 8, 2015 – United Wind, a leading provider of distributed wind energy solutions announced today that it had secured financing from U.S. Bank and New York Green Bank to expand its market leading WindLease program, which enables both residential and commercial property owners to lease distributed-scale wind turbines (≤100kW in rated capacity). United Wind’s popular program offers qualified customers a fixed rate, 20-year maintenance-free lease to immediately reduce their energy costs by harvesting their on-site wind energy, without any initial out-of-pocket costs required from the customer.
“Rural communities represent a vast, underserved market for renewable energy across the U.S. and beyond. Our WindLease program delivers highly competitive energy prices in these areas when compared to the grid or other renewable technologies,” said Russell Tencer, Co-Founder and CEO of United Wind. “Today’s announcement represents an inflection point for our industry; with this new access to affordable project finance capital, distributed wind is now positioned to grow rapidly and meet customer demand for affordable wind energy in these communities.”
“U.S. Bank is pleased to announce its commitment to United Wind and their WindLease program,” said Daniel Siegel, vice president of U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation’s renewable energy finance division. “We see this opportunity as furthering the bank’s overall commitment to supporting a green energy future.”
United Wind launched the WindLease program in late 2013 in an effort to provide financing to the historically underserved distributed wind market. During in its first two years of operations, the company closed two rounds of project financing, deploying over $7 million into 26 projects throughout the northeast. With this new partnership, distributed wind energy begins its transition from niche concept to mainstream solution.
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About United Wind
United Wind is a leading provider of low-cost distributed wind energy through its WindLease program. Founded on the belief that the wind energy must be affordable to compete with conventional, less sustainable energy sources, United Wind provides customers with low-cost wind energy options that make sense for today and the future. For more information visit: http://www.unitedwind.com.
About U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation
With nearly $15.8 billion in managed assets as of Dec. 31, 2014, U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation, a subsidiary of U.S. Bank, provides innovative financing solutions for community development projects across the country using state and federally sponsored tax credit programs. USBCDC’s commitments provide capital investment to areas that need it the most and have contributed to the creation of new jobs, the rehabilitation of historic buildings, the construction of needed affordable and market-rate homes, the development of renewable energy facilities, and the generation of commercial economic activity in underserved communities. Visit USBCDC on the web at www.usbank.com/cdc.