Acciona buys 4GW of US solar and storage from Tenaska

Spanish renewables company Acciona has inked a deal to acquire 3GW of PV projects and 1GW of energy storage from US independent power producer Tenaska.

The deal includes 20 projects in the PJM Interconnection and Southwest Power Pool markets, spanning the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri. Acciona expects that eight projects, totalling 1.5GWp – or 1.2GW of rated power – to be in service by the end of 2023.

Tenaska’s development services arm, Tenaska Solar Ventures, will work alongside Acciona on project development.

The new solar plants will plump Acciona’s North American renewables portfolio, which is currently heavily weighted towards wind. The Spanish firm's US solar activity is currently limited to a 64MW concentrated solar plant (CSP) in Las Vegas.

Rafael Esteban, Acciona's North American energy division director, said that the new solar and storage capacity will give the company the “opportunity to increase our commitment to renewable energy and sustainability in the United States through photovoltaic and energy storage technology, after the investments we have already made in wind power.”

In a statement, Acciona said it counted 1,207MWp of solar capacity worldwide at the end of the first quarter of 2019.

Nebraska-based Tenaska is no stranger to inking megadeals. In November 2018, the Nebraska-based IPP signed an agreement with Swiss asset management company Capital Dynamics to develop 2GW of solar across the Midcontinent System Operator (MISO) market.

US solar prospects will take centre stage at Solar Media's Solar & Storage Finance USA, to be held in New York on 29-30 October 2019.

Tags: acciona, tenaska, mergers and acquisitions, southwest power pool, usa, us, ssfusa