Spanish oil major Repsol has made its first foray into the US renewables market with the acquisition of a 40% stake in solar and energy storage project developer Hecate Energy.
Repsol, which will have the option of buying the remaining shares three years after the deal closes, said the transaction will make it a “significant player” in the US solar development market.
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Chicago-based Hecate has renewables pipeline of more than 40GW, of which 16.8GW corresponds to PV and storage projects at an advanced stage of development. Most of its assets are located in US electricity markets that are expected to grow significantly in the next decade due to states’ emissions reduction targets.
The company is also involved in Hecate Grid, a battery storage project developer with a capacity of 4.3GW that it formed with InfraRed Capital Partners.
“We are pleased to align ourselves with a major global energy company that is leading the transition to a multi-energy future,” said Hecate Energy chairman David Tohir.
Repsol said the acquisition represents a “substantial leap forward” in the company’s efforts to have 7.5GW installed renewables capacity by 2025 and then 15GW by the end of the decade. The firm has pledged to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
The US is the second renewables market that Repsol has entered outside of Spain after forming a joint venture last year with Ibereólica Renovables Group that will develop more than 1.6GW of clean energy projects in Chile.
