US independent power producer (IPP) Avantus has started commercial operations at its Aratina 1 project in Kern County, California, which combines 200MW of solar PV capacity and a 500MWh battery energy storage system (BESS).
Last year, Avantus secured more than US$500 million in finance for the project, from a consortium of lenders comprising the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Truist Securities, ING Capital and Mizhou. Truist Bank also provided a US$300 million tax equity commitment.
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The company has already signed offtake agreements for the entirety of the project’s output with two community choice aggregators, Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) and Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE), which collectively supply power to around 1.4 million customers in California.
“The Aratina project is a powerful example of how community choice energy turns climate goals into real projects on the ground,” said 3CE CEO Robert Shaw. “Our long-term commitment to 120MW from this facility will deliver clean, affordable power to our customers while supporting California’s transition away from fossil fuels.”
This is not the first time Avantus has signed an offtake deal with a community energy provider. Just last week, the company signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with non-profit electricity provider the Celan Power Alliance, which is also based in California, to sell power generated at its Rexford 2 solar-plus-storage project.
Avantus CEO Cliff Graham added that the project is a “major milestone”, not only on its own merits, but because its operation is a key step in Avantus’ transition from developer to IPP. The company said that it would maintain a “controlling stake” in the project as part of this transition.
The news follows a number of project developments for the company, including the completion of construction at a solar PV project in Texas and the completion of financing for the Aratina 2 solar-plus-storage project, which is currently under construction adjacent to the Aratina 1 project.
