SunEdison, Inc. (NYSE: SUNE) has inked a joint venture agreement with Dominion (NYSE: D) relating to the 420 megawatt DC Four Brothers solar project in Utah.
Dominion will invest approximately USD $500 million to acquire half of the cash equity and 99 percent of the tax equity in Four Brothers, including funding of construction. SunEdison will contribute the remainder of the already fully-financed capital required to complete the project, which is currently under construction.
“From a financial perspective, the Dominion partnership demonstrates the quality of our project and provides SunEdison and TerraForm Power with a complete solution for the construction and permanent financing of this 420 MW solar facility,” said Paul Gaynor, executive vice president of SunEdison EMEA & Americas. ” This solar project will also bring clean, affordable electricity to Utah residents and businesses while providing attractive returns for its owners.”
The Four Brothers solar project is expected to produce 800,000 megawatt-hours of clean electricity annually; enough to power more than 90,000 homes. It consists of four separate facilities, three sited in Beaver County and one in Iron County.
The electricity generated by the facilities will be sold under long-term power purchase agreements (solar PPA‘s) for 20 years with PacifiCorp (A-/A3), a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy.
During construction, the project is expected to create an estimated 500 jobs within the rural communities of Beaver and Iron Counties and will generate USD $66 million in direct property and income taxes over 20 years.
Dominion is one of the USA’s largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 24,600 megawatts of generation capacity. The company serves utility and retail energy customers in 13 states.
SunEdison, the world’s largest renewable energy developer, has a significant presence in Utah. In April, the company signed agreements to construct three new utility-scale solar power plants in the south of the state – the Granite Mountain Solar West plant, the 100 megawatt Granite Mountain Solar East facility and the 99 megawatt Iron Springs Solar power station.
Other SunEdison projects in Utah include the Seven Sisters venture and 22 megawatts of smaller PV installations.
