Renewable energy developer BayWa r.e. announced that it acquired Enable Energy Inc. Enable Energy is a U.S.-based commercial and industrial solar and energy storage solutions provider.

The acquisition represents the latest move in BayWa r.e.’s growth and expansion strategy in the United States.  The company says it currently has 3 GW of renewable energy online while managing 8.3 GW of assets around the world.

BayWa r.e. currently has 750 MW of solar and wind projects under construction in California, North Carolina, Texas, and Mexico. It said that it was likely to surpass 1 GW of utility-scale installations in the Americas by the end of 2020.

The addition of Enable Energy will push BayWa r.e.’s total pipeline of solar and wind projects to more than 5 GW in the region. Enable will operate under its name for the time being and eventually be rebranded as a BayWa r.e. company.

The acquisition would help BayWa r.e. enhance its capabilities in serving enterprise commercial and industrial clientele and utilities with turnkey services.

Enable’s portfolio includes local and regional businesses, Fortune 500 companies, and federal government entities. The company has worked on a variety of projects in California, Hawaii, and other locations to build more than 76 MW of rooftop and ground-mounted commercial, industrial, and utility solar projects since the company was founded in 2014.

It also operates in the behind-the-meter and front-of-meter energy storage EPC sectors, with completed installations of over 70 MWh in 2019 alone.

“Enable Energy is one of the fastest-growing solar and energy storage solutions providers in the U.S., with a significant installation base, healthy project pipeline, and expanding O&M (operation and maintenance) business. The addition of EEI to the BayWa r.e. Americas family will create multiple collaborative opportunities with our existing businesses. It will improve our position in strategic regional and vertical markets, such as commercial solar-plus-storage,” said Axel Veeser, Managing Director, BayWa r.e.

“By combining our U.S. commercial and industrial focus and extensive expertise with BayWa r.e., we will be able to execute on a significantly expanding project pipeline and leverage the strength of our new parent company’s resources and global brand. We look forward to expanding our geographic reach, building our relationships with strategic clients, strengthening our O&M offering, working together with BayWa r.e.’s already the impressive team to support their global client base with facilities in the US,” said Brad Ferrell, CEO of Enable Energy.

Mercom recently reported that in the largest rooftop solar acquisition to date, Sunrun decided to acquire Vivint Solar in an all-stock transaction for $3.2 billion. Vivint Solar serves as a full-service residential solar services provider in the United States, while Sunrun is a home solar, battery storage, and energy services company.

Notably, in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service of the United States announced tax relief for taxpayers who have installed renewable energy projects. The IRS said that the relief had been provided because COVID-19 has caused industry-wide delays in the supply chain for components needed to complete renewable energy projects that are otherwise eligible for the investment tax credit.

Image credit: BayWa r.e.