Heelstone Acquires Wind, Solar Pipeline, Installs New Leadership

• Qualitas-owned Heelstone buys U.S. wind and solar projects from VIP, adds ex-VIP CEO Mike Weich as chief, expanding its pipeline to more than 5 GW.

Heelstone Renewable Energy has kicked off its next growth chapter with the purchase of a mixed wind-and-solar portfolio from Valor Infrastructure Partners, a deal that also brings a veteran development team—and new executive leadership—under the Heelstone banner.

The acquisition covers several early-stage onshore wind projects in the U.S. West plus a 190-MW p solar array in Texas that is already deep into permitting and expected to reach commercial operation in 2027-28. While terms were not made public, Heelstone said the purchase fits the strategy it adopted after Spanish fund manager Qualitas Energy took control of the company last May: build a fully integrated independent power producer capable of steering projects from bare-ground siting to long-term operation and asset management.

Along with the projects come 11 former VIP employees, including ex-CEO Mike Weich and chief development officer Daryl Hart. Weich now takes the reins at Heelstone as chief executive, with Hart retaining his CDO role—a leadership shuffle designed to blend VIP’s regional know-how with Heelstone’s existing solar-first culture. The combined workforce now numbers about 60 specialists covering development, engineering, finance, construction and operations.

For Qualitas Energy, better known in Europe for buying and repowering legacy wind farms, the transaction cements a beachhead in the world’s second-largest renewables market. Heelstone’s pipeline has swelled past 5 GW across 14 states, giving the Madrid-based investor a diversified slate of solar, wind and storage options just as the U.S. market accelerates under the Inflation Reduction Act’s long-term incentives.

Industry observers note that folding in early-stage wind assets complements Heelstone’s predominantly solar portfolio, spreading geographic and technology risk while creating optionality for hybrid projects that can soak up grid headroom and capture higher-value evening power prices. The Texas PV plant, for example, sits in an area of ERCOT where battery storage additions are expected to soar, offering potential for a later retrofit.

With fresh projects in hand and a seasoned development crew on the payroll, Heelstone now turns to the harder task: navigating interconnection queues, supply-chain bottlenecks and rising construction costs. Still, Qualitas executives say the company’s enlarged scale—and the credibility that comes from boots-on-the-ground talent—puts it on course to bring gigawatts of new capacity online before the decade closes.