Courtesy / ORPC
A view of ORPC's RivGen power unit on the bottom of a river.
May 8, 2019
ORPC joins forces with Warbird Capital to offer leasing of its RivGen power system
Courtesy / ORPC
The ORPC team stands in front of the RivGen device just prior to last month's RivGen commercial product launch at Brunswick Landing. Today, the Portland-based company announced it is partnering with Warbird Capital LLC, a private investment firm specializing in financing solutions for asset-heavy enterprises, to offer tailored leasing solutions to customers interested in its renewable river power system.
By James McCarthy
ORPC Inc. announced today it is partnering with Warbird Capital LLC, a private investment firm specializing in asset-heavy enterprises, to offer tailored leasing solutions to customers interested in its renewable river power system.
In April, the Portland-based company unveiled its first commercial RivGen Power System in a ceremony attended by Gov. Janet Mills at Brunswick Landing. The RivGen unit is en route to Alaska for installation in the Kvichak River and will provide electricity to the remote community of Igiugig, offsetting the village’s diesel fuel use by up to 50% and moving it closer to using diesel fuel for emergency-backup only.
Warbird Capital LLC, founded in 2015, is based in New Canaan, Conn. Its areas of expertise include maritime financing, both Jones Act and “blue water”; commercial aviation; corporate and private aviation; freight rail; and energy. Its CEO and founder is Nicholas Pastushan, formerly chief investment officer of CIT Transportation Finance, where he managed $20 billion in transportation leases and loans. Previously, he was at GE Capital Aviation Services, the largest commercial air lending and leasing operation in the world with over $50 billion in assets, according to Warbird Capital’s website.
“We look forward to working closely with ORPC and its customers to make it easier to benefit from ORPC’s no-carbon, microgrid energy solutions,” Pastushan said. “Our leasing option will utilize any available subsidy programs, grants and other sources of low-cost financing as part of an affordable structured solution for ORPC customers.”
Chris Sauer, ORPC chairman, co-founder and CEO, said the exclusive relationship with Warbird Capital creates new opportunities for his company to scale up and market its commercial RivGen Power System to additional remote communities seeking renewable power alternatives.
“We are thrilled to be working with Warbird Capital to offer communities a leasing option for comprehensive renewable energy solutions incorporating our RivGen Power System with smart grid electronics and energy storage to build the no-carbon microgrids of the future,” he said. “The RivGen Power System is a big step into the future of sustainability for nearly 2 billion mostly indigenous people worldwide who live in remote, off-grid communities, 700 million of whom currently rely on very expensive, environmentally-risky diesel fuel to power their homes.”
ORPC is also progressing with a growth capital offering via Netcapital, the company stated in a news release. A portion of the raise is reserved for Main Street investors, though primarily directed at impact and institutional investors under the SEC’s Crowdfunding rules adopted under the JOBS Act.
Worldwide, ORPC is the only company to have built, operated and delivered power to a utility grid from a renewable tidal energy project (in Maine), and to a remote community grid from a renewable river project (in Alaska). In addition to its company headquarters in Portland, ORPC has offices in Montreal (ORPC Canada) and Dublin (ORPC Ireland), an operations center in Eastport, and a project office in Anchorage, Alaska.
The Igiugig RivGen Project is supported in part by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) under the Water Power Technologies Office Award Number DE-EE0007348 to the Igiugig Village Council.
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