New Energy Solar to buy 130 MW portfolio of US PV plants
New Energy Solar (NES) will acquire 14 utility-scale solar plants from Cypress Creek Renewables (CCR) with capacity of 130 MW once completed in 2018. NES will take a $108m stake in CCR by the time the plants are commissioned. Ten of them will be based in North Carolina and four in Oregon. The facilities are due to sell energy according to 13- to 15-year fixed-price and escalating power purchase agreements (PPA).
SYDNEY, Australia and Austin, Texas – 6 October 2017 — New Energy Solar (NES) and Cypress Creek Renewables (CCR) today announced that New Energy Solar has entered into a binding agreement to acquire fourteen utility- scale solar plants, totaling 130 megawatts DC (MW), to be constructed by CCR and anticipated to be commercially operational in 2018.

On completion of the plants (the CCR Portfolio), New Energy Solar’s investment in the CCR Portfolio will be approximately US$108 million, paid progressively against specified development and construction milestones. The projects have been developed and designed by CCR and will serve utilities in North Carolina and Oregon.

Ten of the plants, totaling 71MW, will be constructed in North Carolina and, once constructed, will connect to the electrical systems of Duke Energy Progress and Duke Energy Carolinas (together, Duke), both subsidiaries of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK), the largest electric power holding company in the United States.

The other four plants, totaling 59MW, will be constructed in Oregon and have approval to connect to the electrical system of PacifiCorp, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy (NYSE: BRK.A). Both Duke and Pacificorp are vertically-integrated, regulated utilities.

The CCR Portfolio plants are expected to sell power under 13 to 15-year fixed price and escalating power purchase agreements (PPA) to large utility offtakers, including Duke and PacifiCorp. Following expiry of the PPA terms, the plants can re-contract with those parties or enter into new contracts with other buyers.

North Carolina has a well-established solar development, construction, and asset management market. In addition, the state’s strong economic growth is forecast to continue, with a resulting positive outlook for electricity demand and pricing. Oregon is a growth state for solar development, and one of the fastest growing US states in GDP terms, resulting in a similarly positive outlook for electricity demand and pricing.

John Martin, New Energy Solar CEO said, “These high-quality projects and the proposed PPAs with creditworthy off-takers greatly increase our scale as an investor in solar and also enhance the diversity of our portfolio. In addition, the opportunity to work with Cypress as a long-term partner on these projects is very exciting.

They are one of the leading developers, constructors and operators of utility-scale solar power in the United States, with over 1GW of CCR-developed solar power plants in operation. Their expertise and excellent standing in the US renewables market is well-established and we look forward to the successful completion of these projects, as well as future opportunities to work together”.