Masdar will acquire stake in three wind farms and five solar plants, expanding its renewables footprint in the US
Milligan 1 Wind Project in Saline County Nebraska. (Credit: EDF Renewables North America.)
Masdar, a subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company, has entered into an agreement with EDF Renewables North America to acquire 50% of its renewable projects totaling 1.6GW, located in the US.
The renewable portfolio includes three wind farms in Nebraska and Texas totaling 815MW and five solar plants in California, two of which include battery storage systems totaling 689MW solar and 75MW of lithium-ion battery energy storage.
Masdar CEO Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi said: “As the second largest renewable energy producer in the world in terms of installed power capacity, the US offers considerable scope for further growth and diversification of our renewable energy portfolio.
“We are delighted to expand our presence there through this landmark deal to invest in eight clean energy assets in California, Nebraska and Texas, and to further strengthen our global partnership with EDF Renewables.”
Details of the renewable projects included in the transaction
The three wind farms include the 243MW Coyote wind project located in Scurry County, Texas, the 273MW Las Majadas wind project in Willacy County, Texas and the 300MW Milligan 1 wind project in Saline County, Nebraska.
The three wind farms are presently under construction and are expected to start operations in the fourth quarter of this year.
The solar projects include the Desert Harvest 1 and Desert Harvest 2 solar projects total 213MW of solar and 35MW/140MWh of battery storage along with the 173MW Maverick 1 and 136MW Maverick 4 solar projects.
The four solar projects are located in Riverside County, California. The projects are presently under construction and could begin operations in the fourth quarter of this year.
The fifth project the 166MW Big Beau solar project, is located in Kern County California, which is supported by 40MW/160MWh battery energy storage project. The project will begin operations next year.
When operational, the power generated from the eight projects will be sold under long-term contracts to a several offtakers such as utilities, hedge providers and community choice aggregators (CCAs).
In total, the projects have created more than 2,000 jobs and when operational the projects will help to offset more than 3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide every year.
Subject to regulatory approvals, the deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.
EDF Renewables North America president and CEO Tristan Grimbert said: “EDF’s collaboration with Masdar runs deep in the Middle East and North Africa already. This deal writes a new chapter of cooperation between our two companies focused on the North American market.
“I would like to highlight the exceptional quality of work for both the Masdar and EDF Renewables North America teams over the last year to execute this transaction in particularly troubled times.”