CIT Group arranged a $26 million senior secured credit facility to Citizens Solar Holdings for the construction of five ground-mounted solar photovoltaic power generation facilities located in Devens, Holyoke, Whately and Agawam, Massachusetts. Citizens Solar Holdings is part of Citizens Energy, a 501(c)4 non-profit originally founded by Joseph Kennedy II in 1979 to use revenues from commercial enterprises to support charitable programs in the U.S. and abroad.

CIT Corporate Finance served as Sole Lead Arranger in the transaction and financing was provided by CIT Bank, the U.S. commercial bank subsidiary of CIT. Bostonia Partners acted as Financial Advisor to Citizens Energy for these projects. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“Citizens is a well-known and proven electric utility with substantial experience developing, owning and operating power projects,” said Mike Lorusso, Group Head of CIT Energy. “Completing this transaction further enhances CIT’s position in the project finance marketplace for renewable energy transactions while helping to grow the alternative energy sector.”

Joseph Kennedy II, Chairman and President of Citizens Energy, said, “We’re so grateful to CIT for their faith in us and our solar projects. Thanks to their financing expertise, we’re able to deliver greener and cleaner low-cost energy and at the same time generate revenues to help the poor."

Citizens Energy is a non-profit company founded in 1979 by Joseph P. Kennedy to provide low-cost heating oil to the poor and elderly. The company grew to encompass seven separate for-profit subsidiaries, including the largest energy conservation firm in the U.S. Citizens was a pioneer in the natural gas industry, becoming the first non-producer to move gas from the wellhead to over 30 states.