SunEdison, Inc. (NYSE: SUNE), a leading global solar technology manufacturer and provider of solar energy services, today announced that Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) has agreed to provide $145 million in equity financing for the Regulus solar plant. When completed, the Regulus solar project will be SunEdison’s largest developed and constructed project in North America. Located in Kern County, Calif., the Regulus plant will begin operation later this year, and will supply power to Southern California Edison through a 20-year power purchase agreement.
SunEdison developed, designed, executed the structured financing and is constructing the Regulus project, which was contributed to TerraForm Power and represents 10% of the 808 MW DC in the initial TerraForm portfolio.
The 737-acre 82 MW DC solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant is in construction on an abandoned gas and oil field, and will be comprised of over 248,000 SunEdison mono-crystalline solar PV modules. Once operational, Regulus is expected to produce enough energy to completely power over 10,000 homes, with CO2 reductions equivalent to not burning 125 million pounds of coal annually.
“From developing the technology, to constructing the facility, to establishing mutually beneficial financial partnerships with leaders like Google, Prudential and Santander Bank, N.A., Regulus is a prime example of how SunEdison’s end-to-end approach benefits everyone involved in a solar project,” said Bob Powell, president, North America at SunEdison. “That we’ve already made such progress on a project that broke ground in December 2013 is a testament to the speed and efficiency of our process.”
“We believe the world needs a wide range of clean energy technologies, each serving different needs,” said Nick Coons, renewable energy principal at Google. “This project with SunEdison presented an opportunity to take an old gas and oil field and turn it into a clean energy producing solar site. It made sense to support it on multiple levels.”
Google has signed agreements to fund over $1.5 billion in renewable energy investments across three continents with a total planned capacity of more than 2.5 GW (gigawatts). This agreement represents the 17th renewable energy investment project for Google and supports its continued push towards a clean energy future.
Prudential Capital Group, a Prudential Financial asset management business, and Santander Bank, N.A., one of the largest retail banks in the U.S. by deposits, provided term financing for the project. The Santander Group has supported the construction of over six gigawatts of U.S. renewable energy projects since 2011, having invested more than $2 billion through debt, cash equity and tax equity in 36 transactions.
“Our participation in the Regulus transaction with SunEdison marks our seventh bank-institutional hybrid financing executed in partnership with Prudential Capital Group,” said Jorge Camina, head of project and acquisition finance in the United States for Santander.
Ric Abel, managing director of Prudential Capital Group’s Energy Finance Group – Power, furthered, “This financing opportunity not only allowed us to build on our long-standing relationship with SunEdison and Santander, but also to support California’s goals for a clean energy future.”
TerraForm Power, the owner of the system, is majority owned by SunEdison and reflects the company’s commitment to the quality and long term performance of their solar systems. Operation and maintenance for the system will be performed by the SunEdison Renewable Operation Center (ROC), which provides global 24/7 asset management, monitoring and reporting services.
About SunEdison
SunEdison is a global leader in transforming how energy is generated, distributed and owned. SunEdison manufactures solar technology and develops, finances, installs and operates distributed solar power plants, delivering predictably priced electricity and services to its residential, commercial, government and utility customers. SunEdison also provides 24/7 asset management, monitoring and reporting services for hundreds of solar systems worldwide via the company’s Renewable Operation Center (ROC). SunEdison has offices in North America, Europe, Latin America, Africa, India and Asia. SunEdison’s common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “SUNE.”
Google is a global technology leader focused on improving the ways people connect with information. Google’s innovations in web search and advertising have made its website a top internet property and its brand one of the most recognized in the world.
Prudential Capital Group has been a leading provider of private debt, mezzanine and equity securities to companies worldwide for more than 70 years. Managing a portfolio of $68.1 billion as of June 30, 2014, Prudential Capital offers senior debt and mezzanine capital, leveraged leases, credit tenant leases, and equipment finance to companies, worldwide. The global regional office network has locations in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Frankfurt, London, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Newark, N.J., New York, Paris and San Francisco.
Santander Bank, N.A. is one of the largest retail banks in the United States by deposits. Its main corporate offices are in Boston and it operates principally in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Santander’s 9,703 employees serve its 1.8 million customers through the Bank’s 703 branches, 2,092 ATMs, call centers, website and mobile app. Supervised by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Santander in the United States is a wholly-owned, financially autonomous subsidiary of Banco Santander (NYSE: SAN), a global commercial and retail bank.
TerraForm Power (NASDAQ: TERP) is a global renewable energy company that is helping change the way renewable energy is generated, distributed, used and owned. TerraForm Power creates value for its investors by owning and operating high quality solar power portfolios around the globe. While TerraForm Power owns and operates some of the world’s most technologically advanced solar installations, the company intend to acquire other clean power generation assets including wind, geothermal, hydroelectric and hybrid energy solutions where the right opportunities present themselves with a goal to provide power to our customers around the clock.
