Slated to begin commercial operations by mid-2025, the solar and BESS project will generate enough electricity to power approximately 61,000 Arizona households apart from mitigating more than 330,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually
Longroad Energy closes financing and begins construction on the Serrano solar and BESS project in Arizona. (Credit: Samuel Faber from Pixabay)
Longroad Energy has achieved financial close for its Serrano solar and battery energy storage system (BESS) project in Arizona, US.
The US-based renewable energy developer, owner, and operator has also commenced construction on the 220MWdc solar and 214MWac/855MWh storage project.
CIBC and Societe Generale led the debt financing. The financing also had participation from ANZ, PNC, Commerzbank, and US Bancorp Impact Finance.
Being developed in Pinal and Pima Counties, the Serrano solar and BESS project is slated to begin commercial operations by mid-2025.
The BESS for the Serrano project will be provided by energy storage platform provider Powin. It will feature SMA inverters and cells from AESC, which will be incorporated into the modular and scalable Centipede energy storage platform of Powin.
Longroad Energy along with Powin and NovaSource Power Services will provide long-term operations and maintenance services for the BESS.
The Serrano project will leverage First Solar‘s domestically manufactured Series 7 panels.
Once operational, the solar and BESS project will generate enough electricity to power approximately 61,000 Arizona households and will help with grid reliability. The solar and BESS project will also mitigate more than 330,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
Under a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA), the output of the Serrano project will be bought by Arizona Public Service (APS).
Longroad Energy CEO Paul Gaynor said: “We are proud to support American manufacturing and the domestic solar supply chain as we expand our solar footprint in the robust Arizona market, which now surpasses 1.5GW of operating or under construction projects.
“Longroad is grateful to our banking partners, APS, McCarthy, and state and county authorities as we move forward to bring this important project to commercial operations.”
McCarthy Building Companies is the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor for the Serrano project. It will employ more than 300 people during the construction stage.
McCarthy Building Companies renewable energy team operations senior vice president Dan Brown said: “Working with a partner who shares our team’s goals for establishing reliable and sustainable energy infrastructure accessible to all has been instrumental in finding innovative solutions to project challenges and streamlining the planning and development process.”
In November 2023, Longroad Energy closed debt financing of $600m to further expedite the growth of its wind, solar, and battery portfolio.