Ørsted is selling a 50% equity stake in three US onshore solar farms to Energy Capital Partners for $572m (€550m).
The assets include two solar farms in Texas, Mockingbird Solar (468 MW) and Sparta Solar (250 MW), and Eleven Mile Solar Center, a 300MW solar and battery storage project in Arizona.
Ørsted will retain a 50% equity interest in the three solar farms and will continue to operate the projects over their lifespan.
This latest transaction builds on Ørsted’s existing partnership with ECP, which purchased a 50% equity stake in three wind farms and one solar farm in 2022 as part of Ørsted’s first farm-down in the US onshore market.
The sales price relating to the divestment and tax equity funding brings the total proceeds raised for the three projects to $1.3bn.
James Giamarino, head of commercial for the Americas region at Ørsted, said: “These transactions reflect our close engagement with a range of commercial partners, including our tax equity and transferability partners, which are all key to the growth of Ørsted’s US onshore portfolio. As we make further progress on our growth ambitions, we’ll use this recycled capital to continue the build-out of projects that create long-term value for our partners.”
Cody Castaneda, head of partnerships and M&A Americas at Ørsted, said: “Ørsted is excited to bring on ECP as a partner in these additional assets. Our continued partnership reflects the valuable benefits that our diverse portfolio provides for investors, and we’re grateful to ECP for sharing our commitment to supporting the expansion of renewables and American energy generation.”
Matt Himler, principal at ECP, said: “These projects are prime examples of the kind of large-scale clean energy infrastructure the US needs to meet the growing demand for electricity. We’re pleased to expand our partnership with Ørsted and to invest in their diversified portfolio of contracted solar and battery storage assets in high load growth markets. We look forward to leveraging our extensive sector expertise and track record in renewables to deliver carbon-free energy to Arizona and Texas.”
With Mockingbird, Eleven Mile and Sparta Solar officially online, Ørsted now has a portfolio of over 6GW of onshore wind, solar, and battery storage projects in operation or under construction across the US.
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