Real estate investment and development firm Aardex today launched new company Stellera, which will focus on development of community solar projects with a focus on communities disproportionately impacted by the energy transition.

“Aardex has a decades-long track record of successfully developing projects that positively impact communities,” said Caleb Hebel, Principal for Aardex and Stellera. “Stellera is the natural evolution of our growing understanding that incorporating clean energy is essential to the security, resilience and long-term prosperity of our communities. Our team brings extensive experience navigating the often-complex process of seeing renewable energy projects through to fruition, and we look forward to working alongside communities and utilities to continue to increase access to clean energy opportunities.”

Along with Hebel, Stellera will be helmed by Eric Shannon, an industry veteran with nearly a decade of energy project development experience. Shannon will oversee Stellera’s clean energy initiatives, primarily focused on community solar opportunities. Before joining Stellera, Eric managed utility-scale solar and wind projects totaling over 5 GW in SPP and MISO with Invenergy.

Stellera is actively seeking project development opportunities and will focus primarily on community solar projects in the Rocky Mountain and Midwest regions. Collaborating with landowners, communities, utilities, and stakeholders, Stellera works to identify optimal land locations, assess the constructability of sites, secure grid access, explore state incentives, and maximize project value. Employing a data-driven development approach, Stellera aims to minimize risk and maximize positive impact for both partners and the communities it serves.

News item from Stellera