National Cooperative Bank Arranges $82 Million in New Financing for Strata Solar Projects

ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- National Cooperative Bank (NCB), a leading financial services company dedicated to providing banking products to cooperatives and socially responsible organizations nationwide, provided $82 million in financing for solar projects during 2013. The Bank worked with Strata Solar of Chapel Hill, North Carolina on 15 solar projects around the state that provided 94 MW of power. 

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140203/PH56999 )  

"National Cooperative Bank is proud to continue its commitment to funding sustainable projects, part of its mission as a socially-responsible lending organization," said Matt Wright, Senior Vice President at NCB. "We are pleased to partner with Strata Solar, a similar mission-focused firm, and look forward to what our partnership can accomplish in the coming year."

The projects the Bank financed resulted in 94 MW of power, which equates to powering 11,250 homes. Additionally, it will offset over 63,360 tons of CO2, which is equivalent to reducing auto travel by 120 million miles and reducing the carbon footprint by 11,700 cars. One hundred percent of the electricity generated will be purchased by subsidiaries of Duke Energy.  More than half of the solar projects also serve low to moderate income and rural communities. 

In addition to creating alternative energy supplies, and reducing the carbon footprint, financing these projects also created new jobs in the community. The Bank's partner, Strata Solar, is committed to hiring and training a local workforce for long-term employment opportunities.  In 2013, Strata Solar tripled its workforce by creating 1,200 new jobs. 

"We work very closely with local employment and economic development offices where our major projects are built and we hire and train individuals for a secure future in solar development," said Markus Wilhelm, CEO, Strata Solar.  "Our strategy is to build our utility scale projects in regional 'clusters' so that our teams move from one job to the next creating sustainable long-term job growth."

About National Cooperative Bank:
NCB is dedicated to strengthening communities nationwide through the delivery of banking and financial services, complemented by a special focus on cooperative expansion and economic development. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Bank has offices in Alaska, California, New York, Ohio and Virginia. To learn more, visit www.ncb.coop, National Cooperative Bank on Facebook, or on Twitter @coopbanking.

About Strata Solar, LLC. 
Strata Solar is a national leader of utility scale solar energy systems and installations. Strata's unique, low impact, standardized approach to solar farm creation is supported through its vertical divisions which offer complete turnkey services for the design, construction and installation of utility and commercial photovoltaic systems. Strata also offers a full array of development, engineering, procurement, construction, operation and maintenance services to companies interested in clean renewable energy. Headquartered in Chapel Hill with an expansive O&M facility nearby. For more information please visit www.StrataSolar.com

Contact 
Jordana Marks – Great Ink (212) 741-2977 
OR 
Mary Alex Blanton – NCB (703) 302-8876

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SOURCE National Cooperative Bank