AES Acquires Community Solar, Adds 10 GW Renewable Pipeline

US energy firm AES Corporation has announced the acquisition of leading US solar developer, Community Energy Solar, LLC (Community Energy). AES has signed PPAs to deliver 4 GW of renewables in the US this year and the acquisition of Community Energy will further bolster the Company’s future expansion efforts with a strong pipeline and skilled development workforce.

Leo Moreno

“AES Corporation has experienced tremendous growth in renewables in the US this year, placing it among the leading renewables players in the country. Community Energy has built a top reputation over the last 20 years for its ability to successfully develop renewables projects,” said Leo Moreno, AES Clean Energy President. “The addition of Community Energy and its 10 GW pipeline to AES will complement our efforts to deliver highly innovative products to customers with a strong pipeline that now totals more than 40 GW across the country and an industry-leading development team to advance projects. Together, we’ll continue to work towards our vision for a net-zero energy future.”

Community Energy team has been involved with renewables development in the US for 20 years. Community Energy has developed more than 3 GW of solar and storage projects and opened the market for utility-scale solar as the first to develop a 100 MW scale project in seven states.

“Community Energy launched its solar business with a mission to commercialize utility-scale solar and decarbonize the grid, and we delivered by developing about 5% of all utility-scale solar built in US to date. Driven by the urgency of the climate crisis and the need for 10x growth in solar over the next decade, we decided it was time to amplify our impact by joining forces with a world-class partner,” said Brent Beerley, Community Energy CEO. “AES is the ideal partner for us because of their conviction on climate, their industry-leading innovation and most importantly, their people. Having worked closely with the AES team over the past several years, we have found a deep alignment on values and culture, which was essential to us. I am beyond grateful to our team, our board and AES for this opportunity.”

AES’ US renewables portfolio now includes 4.4 GW of operating assets and 5.7 GW of signed PPAs. It has operations in 13 countries and $9.6 billion in revenue in 2020, and had bought several solar projects developed by Community Energy in recent years, so there was an established relationship between the two companies.