DESRI acquired the solar farm early this year from an affiliate of Oakwood Construction Services
The power generated by the facility will be sold to PacifiCorp. (Credit: Pixabay/Sebastian Ganso)
D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI), a renewable energy producer, has announced reaching financial close for the 80MW Sigurd solar project in Utah, US.
The firm has secured both construction debt and tax equity financing for the project, which will be located just outside the town of Sigurd in Sevier County, Utah.
The solar farm was acquired by DESRI early this year from an affiliate of Oakwood Construction Services. DESRI has also retained the company to provide engineering, procurement, and construction services for the project.
The project is expected create 300 jobs and create significant tax revenue for Sevier County over the project life.
The project is expected commence operations in the first half of 2021
DESRI CEO David Zwillinger said: “The COVID-19 crisis made this a particularly challenging environment to close an acquisition, financing, and tax equity investment.
“We are grateful for the ongoing support of our partners at HSBC, Societe Generale, City National Bank, and M&T, who worked tirelessly to close this transaction in spite of unprecedented headwinds. DESRI is pleased to start construction on its fourth utility-scale solar project in Utah and bring high quality jobs to Sevier County.”
According to metrics provided by the Environmental Protection Agency, the project is expected to generate equivalent power that is enough to supply electricity to about 18,500 households, once it is operational in the first half of 2021.
Additionally, the power generated by the facility will be sold to PacifiCorp under a 25-year power purchase agreement and support Facebook’s operations in the area with new solar power.
Furthermore, SOLV was selected to provide the ongoing operations and maintenance services to the Sigurd solar project.
HSBC, Societe Generale, and City National Bank are part of a syndicate of lenders that are providing construction and term loan financing, while M&T has committed to provide tax equity financing.