Apollo Funds Commit up to $400 Million for New Commercial Solar Partnership with Summit Ridge Energy
Rhea-AI Summary
Apollo (NYSE: APO) and Summit Ridge Energy have announced a new joint venture partnership where Apollo-managed funds will commit up to $400 million to jointly own and operate commercial solar assets across Illinois. This builds upon Apollo's previous $175 million strategic investment in Summit Ridge made in 2022.
Summit Ridge Energy is a major owner-operator of commercial solar assets in the United States, with over 2GW of solar projects operating and in development across seven states, serving more than 40,000 homes and businesses. The company operates in Illinois, Maryland, Virginia, New York, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Maine.
This partnership aligns with Apollo's broader climate and energy transition investments, with Apollo-managed funds and affiliates having committed, deployed, or arranged approximately $58 billion in climate and energy transition-related investments over the past five years.
Positive
- New $400 million commitment expands Apollo's renewable energy portfolio
- Builds upon successful previous $175 million investment from 2022
- Partnership with established player operating 2GW of solar projects
- Diversified presence across seven states serving 40,000+ customers
Negative
- Significant capital commitment concentrated in single state (Illinois)
- Large investment dependent on solar market conditions and regulatory environment
Insights
Apollo's $400 million commitment to this new solar joint venture represents a strategic expansion of their alternative energy portfolio, building on their $175 million investment in Summit Ridge from 2022. This continued relationship demonstrates Apollo's confidence in both the partner and the commercial solar sector.
The investment aligns perfectly with Apollo's broader climate transition strategy, where they've already deployed or arranged $58 billion over five years. For context, this represents a significant allocation toward meeting their proprietary Climate and Transition Investment Framework targets of $50 billion by 2027 and $100+ billion by 2030.
This partnership structure provides Apollo with direct ownership in solar assets rather than just financing them, potentially offering more favorable economics through the asset lifecycle. By focusing specifically on Illinois, Apollo gains concentrated market exposure in a state with supportive renewable policies.
The investment creates multiple value streams: stable long-term returns from operational solar assets, portfolio diversification benefits, and strengthened ESG credentials that increasingly matter to Apollo's institutional investors. Summit Ridge's established position as a leading commercial solar developer (2GW portfolio across seven states) reduces execution risk compared to backing earlier-stage developers.
This expanded partnership between Apollo and Summit Ridge comes at a pivotal moment in the commercial solar sector. By targeting Illinois specifically, the joint venture capitalizes on one of the faster-growing solar markets in the Midwest, driven by favorable state-level incentives and increasing corporate demand for renewable energy.
Summit Ridge's business model of developing commercial-scale solar that benefits both businesses and households (serving 40,000+ customers) positions them well in the distributed generation segment, which typically offers higher margins than utility-scale solar while avoiding some of the transmission bottlenecks plaguing larger projects.
The $400 million commitment demonstrates confidence in Summit Ridge's ability to execute in an increasingly competitive landscape. Their established 2GW development pipeline across seven states indicates substantial growth potential beyond this initial Illinois-focused partnership.
The joint venture structure allows Apollo to participate directly in asset ownership while leveraging Summit Ridge's development expertise. This vertical integration approach could provide advantages as the sector matures, particularly as solar assets demonstrate reliable long-term performance and potentially become attractive securitization candidates.
This deal reflects the broader trend of institutional capital flowing into commercial solar, which offers an attractive combination of contracted cash flows, tax benefits, and ESG alignment.
NEW YORK and ARLINGTON, Va., April 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Apollo (NYSE: APO) and Summit Ridge Energy, LLC (“Summit Ridge Energy” or “Summit Ridge”), one of the nation’s leading commercial solar companies, today announced that Apollo-managed funds (the “Apollo Funds”) have committed up to
Summit Ridge Energy is one of the largest owner-operators of commercial solar assets in the United States, with over 2GW of solar projects operating and in development across Illinois, Maryland, Virginia, New York, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Maine, providing energy savings to more than 40,000 homes and businesses while contributing to American energy independence. In 2022, Apollo Funds previously made a
Apollo Partner Corinne Still said, “We are pleased to expand our relationship with Summit Ridge Energy and enter this new partnership, which we believe represents a compelling opportunity to invest in solar projects poised to contribute domestic power generation capacity to meet growing electricity demands for households and businesses alike. Apollo is committed to serving as a leading capital provider enabling the new industrial renaissance and is excited to continue our support of Summit Ridge’s mission to deliver a more secure, self-reliant energy future for communities across the country.”
“As we expand our footprint of solar assets, Summit Ridge Energy is advancing a more reliable and locally driven energy system—bolstering the U.S. electric grid while delivering savings to businesses and households and helping to create thousands of American jobs,” said Adam Kuehne, Chief Investment Officer of Summit Ridge Energy. “We’re proud to partner with the Apollo team as we continue driving the nation toward greater energy independence.”
Over the past five years, Apollo-managed funds and affiliates have committed, deployed or arranged approximately
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP served as legal counsel to the Apollo Funds.
____________________
i As of December 31, 2024. The firmwide targets (the “Targets”) to deploy, commit, or arrange capital commensurate with Apollo’s proprietary Climate and Transition Investment Framework (the "CTIF"), are (1)
About Apollo
Apollo is a high-growth, global alternative asset manager. In our asset management business, we seek to provide our clients excess return at every point along the risk-reward spectrum from investment grade credit to private equity. For more than three decades, our investing expertise across our fully integrated platform has served the financial return needs of our clients and provided businesses with innovative capital solutions for growth. Through Athene, our retirement services business, we specialize in helping clients achieve financial security by providing a suite of retirement savings products and acting as a solutions provider to institutions. Our patient, creative, and knowledgeable approach to investing aligns our clients, businesses we invest in, our employees, and the communities we impact, to expand opportunity and achieve positive outcomes. As of December 31, 2024, Apollo had approximately
About Summit Ridge Energy
As the nation’s leading commercial solar company, Summit Ridge Energy merges financial innovation and industry-leading execution to deliver locally generated energy via a more resilient and secure electric grid. This has made Summit Ridge one of the fastest-growing energy companies in America, with over 2 GW of solar power operating and in development.
Since launching in 2017, Summit Ridge has raised over
Contacts
For Apollo:
Noah Gunn
Global Head of Investor Relations
Apollo Global Management, Inc.
212-822-0540
ir@apollo.com
Joanna Rose
Global Head of Corporate Communications
Apollo Global Management, Inc.
212-822-0491
communications@apollo.com
For Summit Ridge Energy:
Media
347-723-7231
Business Development
FAQ
How much is Apollo (APO) investing in the new Summit Ridge Energy solar partnership?
What is Summit Ridge Energy's current solar project portfolio size?
How much did Apollo (APO) previously invest in Summit Ridge Energy?
What is Apollo's (APO) total investment in climate and energy transition projects?
