SunEdison, Inc and TerraForm Power, Inc have closed financing of a 97 MW DC portfolio ofutility-scale photovoltaic solar projects in the UK that were connected during the first quarter of 2015. The portfolio, which includes various individual projects spanning from 6MW to 19MW, will have the combined capacity to power nearly 30,000 homes per year.
Financing for the construction of the solar farms has been provided by Bayerische Landesbank, which issued a £84.6 million non-recourse loan. EDF Energy, the UK's largest producer of low-carbon electricity, will purchase the solar energy under a 15-year power purchase agreement PPA with SunEdison.
As announced on March 31, 2015, TerraForm Power has acquired plants with a capacity of 53 MW from this portfolio. It intends to acquire the remaining 44 MW, currently included on SunEdison's Call Right Project List for TerraForm Power, during the second quarter of 2015.
"As we continue to provide clean energy to the UK market, this portfolio of projects marks a new milestone for us,” said Jose Perez, SunEdison's president of EMEA and Latin America.
“Since entering the UK market, we have been able to connect over 375 MW in just 12 months. The total installed capacity of our projects in the UK powers the equivalent of more than 110,000 local homes per year.”
Carlos Domenech, president and CEO of TerraForm Power, added: “The financing and interconnection of this large portfolio and its addition to TerraForm Power's fleet demonstrates the value that our partnerships with SunEdison and world-class financial institutions like Bayern create. Through these ongoing relationships, we are able to diversify our operating portfolio in ways that allow us to generate robust returns for our shareholders.”
SunEdison has built and connected more than 375 MW of solar power plants in the UK in just 12 months. In this period, the company has raised £287.3 million for project financing and has transferred 238 MW to the TerraForm Power operating portfolio.