Petros PACE Finance is expanding through the acquisition of Demeter Power Group, including Demeter's software and proprietary financing structure.
Founded in 2012, Demeter Power Group Inc.'s goal was bringing scalable financing of solar and distributed energy projects to the commercial and industrial sector. In 2015, Demeter funded its first project with the Tiburicio Vasquez Health Center in San Leandro, Calif., a 200-kilowatt solar project that offset 90 percent of the nonprofit health center's energy load.
Demeter's solar PACE financing structure, acquired by Petros PACE Finance, uses commercial property-assessed clean energy, or C-PACE, programs to tie long-term payments for energy efficiency projects to a property via a non-ad valorem property tax assessment. C-PACE lowers the cost of capital to projects further by efficiently using favorable tax attributes, including the renewable energy investment tax credit (ITC) under Section 48 of the Internal Revenue Code.
In addition, Demeter co-founder Michael Wallander has joined Petros as senior vice president of solar financing for Petros Energy Solutions, a newly formed affiliate that focuses on bringing tax-efficient renewable energy finance solutions to Petros' customers nationwide.
"This is just one of the many steps we're taking to strategically expand our clean energy finance offerings," said Mansoor Ghori, CEO and co-founder of Petros. "As C-PACE financing is becoming more mainstream and projects becoming larger and more complex, our clients are asking us for solutions to address all of their growing, clean energy finance needs. Acquiring Demeter and its unique solar financing structure is the first step in achieving our long-term growth strategy. We look forward to working with Michael to build this business."
"Michael brings a wealth of expertise to Petros Energy Solutions," said Jim Stanislaus, Petros' chief financial officer and a co-founder. "His years of experience in C-PACE and sustainable energy makes him the perfect fit for our team and an integral part of our bold plans to move forward in 2019."
Wallander has over a decade of experience in C-PACE and sustainable energy. Before founding Demeter, he co-founded EcoCity Partners, a Florida PACE administrator that was acquired by Renew Financial in 2015.
He graduated with distinction from Georgetown University Law Center with an LL.M. in securities and financial regulation. He earned his J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and a B.A. from the University of Florida.
