The yieldco of US utility NRG Energy has acquired a 25% stake in the Desert Sunlight project, thought to be the largest solar power plant in North America.
NRG Yield will pay GE Energy Financial Services US$285 million and will take on US$287.4 million of project debt. The deal gives NRG Yield ownership of 137.5MW of operational capacity.
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“The acquisition of an interest in the largest operating solar farm in North America highlights not only our continued commitment to carbon-free generation, but also the strength of our acquisition capabilities to compete for contracted assets of world-class quality in a historically competitive marketplace,” said David Crane, chairman and CEO, NRG Yield. “Desert Sunlight furthers our objective of sustainable and visible dividend growth for our investors while bolstering our generation of carbon-free electricity for thousands of homes through utility-scale solar investments.”
Desert Sunlight’s full 550MW capacity supplies two separate power purchase agreements. A 250MW deal with Southern California Edison has 20 years to run while a 300MW agreement with Pacific Gas & Electric has 25 years left.
Once the deal closes at the end of June, NRG Yield will own 600MW of solar. Its parent NRG Energy owns 1.2GW of solar assets.