SunEdison Inc, (NYE:SUNE), the world’s largest renewables developer, is about to become significantly bigger after an announcement it would acquire two more renewable energy companies.
SunEdison announced last night it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire Globeleq Mesoamerica Energy (GME), Central America’s leading renewable energy company.
As part of the deal, SunEdison will acquire GME’s development and asset management platform; which incorporates four operating wind farms with a combined capacity of 243 megawatts and an 82MW solar farm in Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicaragua.
Also in the portfolio are 80 MW of wind farms about to be constructed in Costa Rica and a pipeline of 246 MW of wind projects under development in various Central American countries.
“The acquisition of GME strengthens SunEdison’s leadership position in the global wind energy market and significantly expands our presence in Central America , a region that offers growth opportunities for our emerging markets development platform,” said SunEdison president and chief executive officer, Ahmad Chatila .
All of GME’s operational assets and those under construction are contracted under long term power purchase agreements (PPAs).
Also announced last night was an agreement to acquire Continuum Wind Energy. Continuum owns and operates 242 megawatts of wind farms in Maharashtra and Gujarat states in India, as well as 170 MW of wind power under construction in Madhya Pradesh state. Continuum also has more than 1,000 MW of wind power plants in development across six states in the country.
” India is a core market for SunEdison and offers growth opportunities in wind and solar energy,” said Mr Chatila. “This acquisition reinforces SunEdison’s commitment to India and will drive immediate shareholder value.”
Both acquisitions are expected to be finalised in the third quarter of this year; subject to regulatory approvals, third-party consents and customary closing conditions.
These acquisitions aren’t SunEdison’s first forays into wind power. In November last year, the company announced the signing of a USD $2.4 billion agreement to acquire First Wind, one of the USA’s leading developers, owners and operators of wind farms. The acquisition was completed in January.
Also in January this year, SunEdison signed a memorandum of understanding with the state government of Karnataka in India to develop 5GW of wind and solar over the next five years.
SunEdison has clean power projects, manufacturing facilities and 39 offices located throughout North America, Europe and Asia.
