CIM OZ Fund Posts $78.7M Profit on Solar Lease Gain, Completes WEPCO Consolidation
CIM Opportunity Zone Fund L.P. reported net income of $78.7 million for fiscal year 2025, swinging from a $6.6 million loss in 2024. The turnaround was driven largely by a $117.4 million one-time realized gain tied to a new power purchase agreement structured as a sales-type lease — not a broad improvement in operating results.
Total revenues fell to $115.8 million from $187.9 million in 2024, a decline of $72.1 million. Solar revenue, the fund’s largest revenue source, dropped to $77.3 million from $152.2 million — a 49% decrease the fund attributed to new power purchase agreements carrying lower fixed rates. The lower rates reflect the longer-term nature of the new contracts, the filing said. Total expenses were essentially flat year over year at $168.2 million.
Offsetting the revenue decline, interest income nearly tripled to $25.2 million from $9.8 million in 2024, and the fund recorded $31.3 million in other income, primarily from a gain on the termination of a below-market renewable energy certificate agreement related to its solar restructuring.
The fund’s defining operational development of 2025 was the completion of a three-phase consolidation of its solar assets into Westlands Electric Power Company, LLC, or WEPCO, a newly formed entity intended to capitalize on long-term trends in U.S. energy markets. The fund contributed its solar project interests — including its Lemoore, Calif., energy platform, the fund’s largest single asset with a cost basis of approximately $1.15 billion — along with interests from other CIM-affiliated entities. As of Dec. 31, 2025, the fund owned approximately 66.7% of WEPCO directly or through subsidiaries. WEPCO holds both operating solar projects and development assets expected to qualify for solar investment tax credits.
The fund also completed what it described as the Epic Merger during 2025, absorbing a separate CIM-affiliated entity and admitting its partners as limited partners of the fund. The transaction increased the fund’s ownership in its Dallas Consolidated Joint Venture from 62% to 70.2%.
As of Dec. 31, 2025, the fund held 19 investments with a carrying value of $2.6 billion. It had 1,893,661 limited partnership units outstanding held by 3,057 limited partners. Cash and equivalents totaled $421.3 million, up from $340.6 million at year-end 2024.
CIM launched the fund in January 2019 as a Regulation D offering targeting qualified opportunity zones established under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Investors who made qualifying contributions in 2019 are approaching the 10-year hold period that allows for tax-free appreciation on their investment under the opportunity zone program.
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