Gaz Métro acquires U.S. energy firm Standard Solar
by Cleantech Canada Staff
The Quebec-based natural gas provider already operates solar farms in Vermont, but this acquisition will give the company a much larger foothold in the burgeoning U.S. solar market
Standard Solar has projects in California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina and Washington D.C. PHOTO: Standard Solar
MONTREAL—Natural gas and solar energy are joining forces.
Québec’s Gaz Métro, announced Mar. 7 the acquisition of Standard Solar Inc., a U.S. solar energy firm.
This deal not only expands Gaz Métro’s presence in the rapidly growing U.S. solar energy industry, but also opens the door to combining solar energy with other energy sources, like natural gas.
The transaction is pending regulatory approval and is expected to close in the coming weeks.
Based in Rockville, Maryland, Standard Solar currently has a portfolio of construction-ready projects totalling 80 megawatts and over 100 megawatts of solar generation capacity under management services.
“Gaz Métro is positioning itself to take full advantage of the projected growth in the solar energy industry, one of the fastest growing sectors in the U.S.,” said Sophie Brochu, president and CEO of Gaz Métro.
Gaz Métro, through its Vermont-run subsidiary Green Mountain Power, has experience operating approximately 30 megawatts of solar capacity in the state, and has sponsored hundreds of solar air preheating system projects in Québec.
