KKR to acquire stake in NextEra Energy renewable assets

Global investment company KKR has signed agreements with NextEra Energy subsidiary NextEra Energy Resources and NextEra Energy Partners to acquire equity interests in wind and solar assets.

The company will acquire equity interests in two separate transactions with an investment of nearly $1.4bn.

The first transaction will see an investment of $300m from KKR for acquiring 50% direct equity from NextEra Energy Resources in the 1,000MW portfolio.

In addition, KKR signed a $1.1bn convertible equity portfolio financing agreement with NextEra Energy Partners for an interest in a 1,125MW portfolio.

The company also signed a letter of intent (LoI) with NextEra Energy Partners to invest nearly $900m in future renewable energy transactions to provide access to capital for future growth.

KKR partner and North American Infrastructure head Brandon Freiman said: “We are pleased to participate in this landmark transaction to acquire contracted, highly diversified renewable energy assets and support the future growth of NextEra Energy, the world’s largest generator of energy from the wind and sun.

“We have built a strong relationship with the NextEra Energy Partners team through our two prior transactions and we are proud to support the development of future clean energy projects while delivering attractive exposure for our investors to core infrastructure assets.”

As part of the deal, KKR will acquire interests in 12 utility-scale wind and solar assets at various locations in the US.

UAE unveils $1.7bn sustainability initiatives for Dubai

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has unveiled its new environmental and sustainability initiatives, worth AED6.6bn ($1.7bn), in Dubai.

State news agency WAM reported that the government will build the Dubai Center for Waste Processing facility that will have a capacity to generate 200MW of electricity annually from waste.

Electricity generated by the facility will be sufficient to power 135,000 residential units.

The first phase of the project is expected to be completed in 2023 while the entire project is scheduled for completion in 2024.

The new facility will be developed in the Warsan area of Dubai with an investment of AED4bn ($1.08bn), which will have the capacity to process 5,666t of municipal solid waste per day and 1.9 million tonnes of municipal solid waste annually.

Once completed, the Dubai Center for Waste Processing facility will be the world’s largest plant in terms of processing capacity.

UAE Vice-President and Dubai Prime Minister and Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said: “Providing a clean environment is at the heart of our efforts to advance the development and provide a high quality of life both now and in the future.

“We have adopted global best practices and implemented innovative projects to preserve our environment and protect the health and safety of people in the UAE.”

Schornhof solar park connected to German power grid

Renewable energy company Statkraft has announced that the first 30MWp of the Schornhof solar park near Ingolstadt, Bavaria, has been connected to the German power grid.

With an installed capacity of 120MWp, Schornhof solar park is the largest solar park in Bavaria. It is being built on the 150ha of land area.

The solar park is being built with an investment of €60m and is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of next year.

Once fully operational, the facility is expected to generate more than 110GWh of clean electricity annually, which will be sufficient to power 30,000 households.

The renewable energy company said that the clean energy generated by the solar facility will not be directly supplied to the medium-voltage grid due to the size of the solar park.

It will be supplied through a specially constructed transformer station, which will convert the voltage from 20,000V to 110,000V.

In a separate development, Statkraft signed a new ten-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with solar power plant developer Anumar.

Statkraft Germany origination department head Patrick Koch said: “As early as July 2020, Statkraft and Anumar laid the foundation for the realisation of the Schornhof solar park by concluding the first PPA.

ENGIE acquires $528m wind farm in Australia

ENGIE Australia & New Zealand (ANZ) has announced the acquisition of Hills of Gold Wind Farm, a A$750m ($528m) facility from Wind Energy Partners.

Located near Nundle, New South Wales (NSW), Australia, Hills of Gold Wind Farm is currently progressing through the planning process.

ENGIE ANZ will be responsible for the development and operations of the wind facility.

After obtaining all the approvals, ENGIE ANZ intends to begin construction work at the site by early 2022.

The wind facility will be equipped with 70 wind turbines and will have a capacity of up to 420MW.

During the construction phase, the project is expected to create more than 215 direct jobs and about 430 indirect jobs.

Once operational, the project is expected to create approximately 30 permanent jobs and 50 indirect jobs.

Additionally, the project is estimated to bring A$370m ($260m) of economic activity in the region during the construction phase.

Skyline Renewables acquires 250MW solar project in Texas, US

Skyline Renewables has acquired the 250MW Galloway solar project in Central West Texas from 8minute Solar Energy for an undisclosed sum.

Backed by the French private equity investment company Ardian, Skyline Renewables will finance and manage the construction of Galloway solar project.

Construction of Galloway solar project is being financed by a consortium of banks led by CIT and will be joined by Rabobank, Commerzbank, DNB Capital and Siemens Financial.

Skylines Renewables president and CEO Martin Mugica said: “We’re very pleased to be adding such a robust solar project in the dynamic Texas energy market.

“This latest project marks another important step forward to becoming a leading North American clean independent energy platform.

“It helps balance our portfolio’s renewable energy mix, giving us peak power flexibility and diversity within ERCOT and allows us to better assist the market when they need it the most.”

The solar facility is expected to come online by the end of next year.

Once operational, the solar facility will be Skyline Renewables first solar asset, bringing its portfolio to more than 1,050MW capacity since the company was formed two years ago.

Vestas to acquire MHI’s entire stake in offshore wind JV for $827m

Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas Wind Systems has agreed to acquire Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ (MHI) complete stake in their offshore wind joint venture MHI Vestas Offshore Wind (MVOW).

The transaction is valued at €709m ($827m), based on the volume-weighted average of the price for shares in Vestas the last five days up to and including 28th October.

Under the agreement, the Japanese firm will take a 2.5% stake in Vestas as well will get a seat in Vestas’ board of directors.

Completion of the deal is subject to approval by the competition authorities.

Vestas anticipates the deal to close by the fourth quarter of this year or by the first quarter of 2021.

In a statement, Vestas said: “Subscription and payment of the new shares shall be made by MHI Denmark at the date of completion of the transaction, but no later than 12 months after the date of the decision by the board of directors to issue the shares.

“Vestas is subject to certain obligations to offer MHI Denmark rights to subscribe for shares against cash payment in the event of a rights issue to shareholders in the period until the closing of the transaction to ensure that any changes to the size of the nominal value of Vestas shares do not subsequently impact MHI Denmark’s proportionate holdings.”

Vestas noted that the process of integrating MVOW into the Vestas group will commence immediately and run until transaction closing.