Who Are You?
We are a team with a profound background in the renewable energy industry, extensive experience spanning over 80 years. Our expertise encompasses renewable investor networks and robust banking relationships, positioning us to provide dependable capital for projects. To ensure the stability of our core strategy, we’ve meticulously selected a group of investors who meet our criteria.
What Is Your Strategy?
We focus on long-term relationships with landowners. We work with a variety of renewable projects, which allows us to maximize the best use of the land.
Do You Take Parcels in Other States?
Yes, as long as it is in the mainland US and Canada.
Where Is Your Capital Coming From?
With over 80 years of combined experience in the energy sector, we’ve cultivated a vast network of renewable investors and established robust banking connections. Several of these strategic investors meet our criteria and are well-equipped to provide reliable capital.
How Did You Get into This Business?
Li: I began my career in the energy industry while working at Berkshire Hathaway Energy/MidAmerican Energy in Des Moines, Iowa, which is the energy division of the renowned investor Warren Buffett’s company. During my time there, I had the privilege of working with various types of generation plants, including coal, natural gas, hydro, geothermal, and nuclear. I was also involved in transmission, distribution, power wholesale and retail trading, dealing with regulatory reviews from the Public Utility Commission (PUC). After relocating to Houston, I expanded my expertise into other sectors of the energy industry, such as oil and gas. I since became recognized as one of the leading energy derivatives experts in commodity trading on a national level, serving famous clients such as Merrill Lynch Commodity Trading while I was at a Big 4 consulting firm. In 2018, I encountered the rapidly growing renewable energy industry in Southeast Asia while I was in the region. Since then, I’ve been dedicated to renewable projects across North America, Latin America, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Europe. This journey has involved a diverse array of renewable energy projects, including solar, wind, hydro, battery storage, geothermal, nuclear, waste-to-energy, and biomass.
Matt: After working in the semiconductor industry for the early part of my career, I transitioned to the renewable energy sector over 15 years ago. My experience has encompassed various roles, including serving as a lender’s engineer, owner’s engineer, technical advisor, and overseeing projects ranging from residential and commercial to industrial, spanning from distributed to utility scale. In total, I’ve been involved in reviewing, managing, and developing projects totaling over 20 GW.
Where Are You Based?
While working remotely is common in the solar industry, we believe it’s essential to have a physical presence near project sites. As such, I split my time between Chicago and Houston to oversee project developments, Matt is based in Boston and visits sites as needed.
Can You Buy the Land?
Currently, our business model revolves around leasing land only. However, in the future, it’s possible that we may establish an infrastructure land fund to acquire land.
Can We Invest in Our Projects?
With the support of industry-established strategic investors and private equity funds in the infrastructure sector, we find ourselves in a strong position regarding our capital requirements. We offer various investment opportunities exclusively to landowners with whom we’ve secured lease agreements and to referral partners who’ve introduced landowners to us. Our available investment opportunities encompass:
- Solar Project Development Investment Opportunity.
- Tax Equity Investment and Solar Project Depreciation: These opportunities involve various tax credits from solar projects, such as ITC/PTC, low-income tax credits, and more. They are particularly attractive to high-net-worth individuals seeking tax credits and deductions.
- Solar Operating Assets, Similar to REIT.
- Land Investment: We often come across landowners who wish to sell their land.
What Makes LXI Capital Different From Other Developers?
Every development company operates with its unique strategy, criteria, and process. In preparation for the launch of our portfolio, we have strategically aligned ourselves with a roster of industry strategic investors, infrastructure investment funds and power and renewable energy credit (REC) offtakers. This ensures robust funding and procurement avenues for all our projects. Additionally, we have long-term partnerships with highly regarded local and national engineering firms, boasting a proven track record in projects similar to ours. When it comes to mitigating interconnection risks, we are proud to have one of the leading interconnection engineers in the United States on our team, instilling confidence in our risk management capabilities.
While the industry traditionally experiences an average success rate of 20%, we expect to achieve a much higher success rate, thanks to our extensive experience and resourcefulness, even as a compact, boutique team. This agility empowers us to make well-informed decisions swiftly. Furthermore, our comprehensive understanding of intricate tax planning strategies and financing structures allows us to tailor solutions to the unique needs and preferences of both farmland owners and investors.
Extensive farming background and farmland knowledge: While growing up on a farm and going through several harvests during my childhood, I also helped hundreds of farmers and their families as a tax consultant in my early career. Additionally, as a real estate investor, I have limited experience in farmland investment. This gives us better understanding about farming industry and farmland, in addition to solar project development.
Will You Develop Ag PV Projects?
Ag PV projects are well within our expertise, particularly due to our previous experience in European markets. It’s essential to note that Ag PV projects in Western Europe tend to be on a smaller scale, primarily due to limited available land. In contrast, the United States offers an abundance of land, making large utility-scale Ag PV projects highly feasible.
While ag PV projects in the U.S. are currently predominantly supported by government grants, rather than private sector funding, we are actively evaluating the potential for developing large utility-scale Ag PV projects. As soon as this opportunity becomes commercially viable, we will make official announcements and proactively seek partnerships within the farming community.
Land Consideration and Inclusivity
We consider any parcel of land that comes our way, including farmland, landfill, tribal land, public land, landfill sites, and various other land types. Each opportunity is assessed based on its unique potential and compatibility within our portfolio.