“Longroad is excited to complete the financing of the Little Bear solar projects and to broaden our partnership with PKA and PenSam through AIP,” said Paul Gaynor, CEO of Longroad. “The Longroad/AIP partnership now owns 837 MW of wind and solar projects.”
“Driving the much-needed energy transition takes a vast amount of resources, experience and capital. I am very proud of this transaction, which further strengthens our partnership with Longroad, and brings together Longroad’s expertise with the investment experience at AIP, while generating long-term stable returns for the pension savers of PKA and PenSam,” said Kasper Hansen, managing partner of AIP.
Little Bear consists of four separate projects selling energy and RECs to Marin Clean Energy (MCE) under 20-year busbar PPAs. The projects are expected to be completed by the end of the fourth quarter of 2020. In addition to creating approximately 500 jobs during the construction of the facility, the project will contribute over $2 million in sales and property taxes.
Longroad acquired the development project from First Solar last year and has since completed all the elements for a successful deployment, the major components are as follows:
KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. and Santander Corporate & Investment Banking closed $333 million of the credit facilities for the project and acted
“We’re excited to expand our partnership with Longroad and grow solar capacity and support economic development in the Central Valley,” said Adam Altenhofen, vice president of renewable energy investments with U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation, the tax equity and community investment subsidiary of U.S. Bank. “Being responsible stewards of the environment is important to U.S. Bank and investing in solar is one of the key ways we can achieve that.”
In May of 2019, Longroad announced the financing and notice to proceed of the Prospero I solar project, one of the largest solar farms in the U.S. The project has been under construction since then and is projected to be operational in the second quarter of 2020. The Prospero I solar farm covers 4,640 acres and is expected to deliver more than $21 million in property taxes, including more than $12 million to the Andrews Independent School District. At its peak, the project employed over 400 people during construction. All told, the project expects to pay more than $24 million in wages over the project life.
First Solar, NEXTracker, and TMEIC are all project suppliers; Swinerton Renewable Energy is building the project under an EPC agreement. The project has an energy-only PPA with Shell Energy North America (SENA).
Facebook is sole tax equity investor and, along with SENA, will share the renewable energy attributes generated by the project’s energy production. CIT is the Coordinating Lead Arranger for the construction loan. Other banks include Silicon Valley Bank, Zions Bancorporation NA, National Australia Bank Ltd, Landesbank Hessen-Thuringen Girozentrale (Helaba), Rabobank, and Commerzbank.
Longroad’s affiliate, Longroad Energy Services, will provide construction management, asset management, operations and maintenance oversight, and remote monitoring services to both Little Bear and Prospero I over the long term.
Both projects are considered critical infrastructure and therefore not impacted by recent COVID-19 restrictions. Swinerton has put in place COVID-19 best practices at each site.
