Lightsource BP starts work on newly-financed solar project near Sacramento

Lightsource BP, the solar power company backed by BP Plc (LON:BP), has mobilised construction work on its 13-MW Wildflower solar project in California after obtaining the needed financing.

The company said today it has closed on a USD-20-million (EUR 16.9m) financing package for the project, with tax equity coming from Guardian Life Insurance Company of America via its partnership with the Rockwood Group. At the same time, National Westminster Bank PLC, or NatWest, is the senior project finance debt lender. Lightsource BP itself will cover the balance of the equity requirements, it added.

Wildflower will be a pollinator-friendly solar farm located about 10 miles north of Sacramento with a capacity in direct current (DC) of 16.5 MW. It will generate enough electricity a year to meet the annual consumption of about 2,600 homes and will sell that power to the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) under a long-term contract. The project will support the utility’s Neighborhood SolarShares community solar programme that can energise new housing developments.

The solar plant is expected to be up and running by the end of the year.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.846)

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