CalCom Energy, a California-based solar project developer and energy services company, has launched the Agriculture Energy Infrastructure Fund with $100 million in capital.
The fund, developed in partnership with Symbiont Energy and Live Oak Bank, was designed to help agriculture companies and farmers hit hard by the impact of recent California wildfires, lack of grid resiliency and ever-increasing energy and water costs.
“Farmers have been under extreme pressure in California with everything from utility bankruptcies to tariffs to natural and manmade disasters,” said Dylan Dupre, president and CEO of CalCom Energy. “CalCom wholeheartedly supports our customers in the Central Valley, and with this fund we can offer very favorable financing options for customers who did not have access to clean energy in the past.”
The Agriculture Energy Infrastructure Fund will construct on-site clean energy projects in California over the next two years. It will also provide long-term, lower cost energy through clean energy power purchase agreements (PPAs).
CalCom estimates the projects will provide roughly $250 million in utility bill savings for customers over the life of the energy assets.
“The Ag Energy Infrastructure Fund will also allow the company to expand our current project development work — and, for the first time, own the projects we’re developing,” noted David Williams, chief commercial officer at CalCom Energy. “Our specialty at CalCom now spans from origination and development through financing, execution and asset management of distributed solar and storage projects.”
CalCom Energy has developed more than 200 megawatts of clean-energy projects to date, including some of the largest agricultural solar farms in the west.
