Mubadala’s Masdar Buys 50% Stake in US Renewables Portfolio from EDF Renewables North America
Posted on 08/13/2020
Masdar is the renewable energy developer of Mubadala Investment Company. Masdar announced its second strategic investment in the United States (US) in a deal with EDF Renewables North America that will see it acquire a 50 percent stake in a 1.6-gigawatt (GW) clean-energy portfolio. Masdar is investing in eight clean energy assets in California, Nebraska, and Texas. Power from the diversified portfolio projects will be sold under long-term contracts to a variety of offtakers, including utilities, hedge providers, and community choice aggregators (CCAs). EDF Renewables is a wholly owned subsidiary of the French utility EDF Group.
Under the terms of the agreement, Masdar has acquired a 50 percent interest in three utility-scale wind farms in Nebraska and Texas totalling 815 megawatts (MW), and five photovoltaic (PV) solar projects in California – two of which include battery energy storage systems – totalling 689 MW of solar and 75 MW of lithium-ion battery energy storage.
The 243 MW Coyote wind project is located in Scurry County, Texas; the 273 MW Las Majadas wind project is in Willacy County, Texas; and the 300 MW Milligan 1 wind project is in Saline County, Nebraska. All three wind projects are currently under construction and expected to begin commercial operations in the fourth quarter of 2020.
In Riverside County, California, the Desert Harvest 1 and Desert Harvest 2 PV projects total 213 MW of solar and 35 MW / 140 MWh of battery storage. Also in Riverside County are the 173 MW Maverick 1 and 136 MW Maverick 4 solar PV projects. These four projects are also under construction and slated for commercial operations in the fourth quarter of 2020. The final project in the portfolio is Big Beau, a 166 MW solar PV and 40 MW/160 MWh battery energy storage project, which is in Kern County and will reach commercial operation in 2021. All solar projects utilize horizontal single-axis tracking technology.
Masdar made its first entry into the U.S. market in 2020, acquiring a 50% interest in two wind farms in Texas and New Mexico.
Advisors
BofA Securities is acting as exclusive financial adviser to Masdar.