Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. announced the acquisition of a sizable 250MWAC/315 MWDC photovoltaic solar project located in Winkler county, TX, United States from Longroad Energy Partners, LLC. Full notice to proceed with construction was issued and commercial operation should be reached in the third quarter of 2019.

Financial close for the project’s non-recourse construction, term debt and tax equity financing was also reached.

“We are very much looking forward to breaking ground on our largest solar project to date. I am confident that our experience and expertise in developing and managing renewable energy projects will ensure the successful completion of the Phoebe project and demonstrate our commitment to growing our diversified portfolio of assets”, said Michel Letellier, President and Chief Executive Officer of Innergex. “With this acquisition, we are in a good position to provide peak renewable power to the ERCOT market, complementing wind energy production and diversifying our footprint in the state. This acquisition brings us closer to exceeding our goal of achieving net 2,000 MW by 2020 and we intend to continue pursuing development and acquisition opportunities of high-quality renewable energy assets to further generate value for our stakeholders.”
Description

Total construction costs are estimated at $397 million and will be partly financed in priority through a $292 million construction and long-term project financing led by the Energy Finance unit of CIT Group Inc. Innergex will fund its $105 million equity commitment after the debt is fully drawn. This obligation will be supported by the issuance of a letter of credit.

At commercial operation, a subsidiary of Wells Fargo is expected to fund the tax equity investment. This investment will be used to repay the tax equity bridge loan, with the balance being distributed to Innergex.