As part of its growth strategy, Scale Microgrid Solutions has acquired a microgrid that serves three key municipal facilities in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Ryan Goodman, Scale CEO, describes “first of many” acquisitions Scale expects to make
“Scale is investing hundreds of millions of dollars to acquire and optimize distributed energy resources, including those currently in commercial operations or in late-stage development,” Ryan Goodman, Scale CEO and co-founder, said June 4.
The acquisition is the “first of many” Scale expects to announce soon, according to Goodman.
“Announcing this transaction highlights our integrated M&A, financing, asset management and operational capabilities in a way that sets us apart from our peers” said Julian Torres, Scale’s chief investment officer.
Scale described the acquisition as an example of how it uses its balance sheet and financing expertise to partner with developers, owners and operators on distributed energy projects, according to Scale, a portfolio company of Warburg Pincus, a private equity firm.
The microgrid, which came online in 2018, was built and owned by Bridgeport Micro-Grid, a partnership between Controlled Air, a company based in Branford, Connecticut, OR&L Construction and Power Island Energy.
The project grew out of a microgrid pilot program run by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in 2013.
Key Bank was the project’s principal financier, with secondary financing coming from the Connecticut Green Bank, according to Controlled Air. The term financing remains in place, Nicole Green, Scale spokeswoman, said. Scale declined to say how much it paid for the microgrid.
A June 3 filing with the Connecticut Secretary of State indicates Scale bought the project from Bridgeport Micro-Grid.
The Bridgeport microgrid includes a combined heat and power system with three 265-kW natural gas-fired reciprocating engines, a 250-kW diesel standby generator and a 200-ton absorption chiller.
The system produces electricity, heat and chilled water, significantly improving energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, according to Scale, which is based in Ridgewood, New Jersey.
Incorporated into the microgrid are design redundancies that enable fail-safe operations in case of an areawide blackout, providing additional resilience for the city’s critical infrastructure facilities.
The microgrid serves Bridgeport’s city hall, police headquarters and the Eisenhower Senior Center under a 20-year contract.
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