Project Finance Brief: BayWa r.e. to Acquire 700 MW of Spanish PV Portfolio

Sol Systems acquires a 540 MW Illinois solar portfolio from Arevon Energy

February 7, 2022

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From: Mercom Capital Group

BayWa r.e., a renewable service provider, energy developer, and distributor, has agreed to acquire 700 MW of Spanish PV development portfolio from Quercus, a specialist investor in renewable energy. Greenhill, an independent investment bank, has acted as a financial advisor for Quercus.

Sol Systems, a solar finance and development company, acquired a 540 MW solar portfolio in southeast Illinois from Arevon Energy. The portfolio – under development – consists of three 180 MW solar energy projects across Hamilton, Randolph, Saline, and White counties. Sol Systems will own and operate the portfolio and work with energy developer Tenaska to develop and construct the projects.

Viridi RE and Solar Ambition (a subsidiary of Green Enesys Group) and Aquila Capital, a sustainable investment and asset development company, have signed an agreement to sell 500 MW of solar projects under development in Spain. Once in operation, these projects will generate enough energy to fully power around 300,000 Spanish households, reducing their carbon footprint by over 390,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year. The agreement includes the development of the portfolio by Viridi RE and Solar Ambition until the ready-to-build status of the assets is reached.

DSD Renewables (DSD) has acquired a six-site 45 MW community solar-plus-energy storage project portfolio in southeastern Massachusetts from Borrego. The portfolio comprises 45 MW of solar PV and 88 MWh of battery storage installations, and the projects will enable local businesses and residents, including low-income subscribers, to access the benefits of affordable renewable energy. The combined capacity of the projects will generate enough clean energy each year to offset the equivalent of 42,882 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

Nautilus Solar Energy, on behalf of its subsidiary Nautilus US Power Holdco and Sunrise Energy Ventures, announced the acquisition of up to twelve community solar projects in Minnesota totaling 16.8 MW of solar capacity. The projects, located in Blue Earth, Sherburne, Wabsha, Winona, Sibley, Wright, Pope, and Meeker Counties, are in various stages of development, with the first several projects expected to reach operations by the end of 2022. Once completed, the community solar projects will provide an alternative energy option to 4,200 households in Minnesota within the Xcel Energy electric utility territory. SEV developed these projects as part of Xcel Minnesota’s Solar Rewards Community solar program, which has allowed for more than 825 MW of completed projects since the start of the program. Nautilus is the long-term owner of the projects and is responsible for overseeing construction, maintaining their long-term performance, and acquiring and managing customer subscriptions.

Bluefield Solar, the U.K. income fund focused on acquiring and managing U.K.-based renewable energy and storage projects, announced the acquisition of the development rights for a 20 MW battery storage project. The acquisition represents the development rights, grid connection costs, and the leasehold of the land of a ready-to-build 20 MW battery storage project for approximately £1.5 million (~$2 million) from Shaw-Energi. The project is based in Liverpool, and construction is expected to begin in 2022.

Israel-based Migdal Insurance, an insurance company, has agreed to buy a 22.5% stake in Doral Renewables’ 300 MW Mammoth Solar II PV project in Indiana. Doral Renewables, doing business as Doral LLC, said that the Israeli insurance company and pension manager has agreed to pay up to $75 million to get the stake in the scheme, thus providing a portion of its total capital requirement.

Innergex Renewable Energy, a Canadian power producer, acquired the 50.6 MW San Andres solar project located in the Atacama Desert in Northern Chile for a total purchase price of $25.7 million. The project operates on a merchant basis. It has a contract to sell Non-Conventional Renewable Energy (NCRE) credits linked to electricity generation to a major energy producer formed in Chile until 2034.

For reports and trackers on funding and M&A transactions in solar, energy storage, smart grid, and efficiency sectors, click here.

Read last week’s project finance brief.

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