Lightshift Energy partners with Basis Climate to complete the sale of ITCs for utility-scale battery storage projects with Massachusetts municipal utilities
January 23rd, 2025—Lightshift Energy, a leading energy storage project developer, owner and operator, has partnered with Basis Climate to complete the sale of nearly $10M of investment tax credits (ITCs).
The tax credits are tied to four utility-scale battery energy storage (BESS) projects in Massachusetts ranging from 9,000 to 22,000 kilowatt hours. These systems are designed to charge during periods of low energy demand, and discharge during higher-cost peak demand periods. Through this peak shaving method, the projects enable significant energy savings for communities across Massachusetts, while also strengthening grid resiliency and helping the state meet its ambitious renewable energy goals.
“With a commitment to bringing the benefits of battery storage to communities across the U.S., it is critical that we secure the necessary financing to scale deployment,” explains Lightshift CFO Ryan Miamis. “By working with trusted partners like Basis and our skilled Lightshift team, we have been able to monetize our ITC, giving us the financial capability to deliver high-impact energy storage projects.”
In total, Lightshift plans to construct up to 50MW of storage across Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC) member utilities that are expected to provide more than $200 million in energy savings to communities.
Utilizing AI to increase efficacy and efficiency of diligence
The tax credits generated by these four projects were subject to prevailing wage and apprenticeship (PWA) requirements. To support review of these, Basis partnered with Dili, an AI-powered general diligence solution, to verify technical wage compliance under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
“A clear due diligence process is fundamental to a successful tax credit transfer,” notes Basis CEO Erik Underwood. “In addition to our robust diligence where we review a credit’s qualification and confirm its value, we teamed up with Dili to do an in-depth PWA compliance analysis and provided our buyer with an added layer of security that gives them the confidence they need to transact, which in turn enabled a smooth and speedy tax credit sale for Lighshift.”
Basis Climate has completed hundreds of millions of dollars of tax credit transfers, ranging from $355k to $100M and running the gamut of clean energy projects. It is focused on ensuring a transparent, simplified and clear process for both buyers and sellers.
About Lightshift
Lightshift Energy is a utility-scale energy storage project developer, owner and operator headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. Founded in 2019, Lightshift is developing a diverse, multi-gigawatt pipeline of energy storage projects, located throughout the U.S. With leading energy storage analytics, application design, finance, and development expertise, Lightshift deploys dynamic, multi-use energy storage projects that maximize value for utilities and other partners, while reinvesting directly into the communities where our projects are located. For more information, please visit www.lightshift.com.
