Southern Power takes control of 157-MW solar project in Texas from Recurrent

Southern Power said on Monday it has acquired a controlling stake in the 157.5-MW Roserock solar project in Texas just as its developer -- Recurrent Energy -- announced it has secured construction and term debt financing for the scheme.

Recurrent Energy, which is a subsidiary of Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ), has closed on construction debt, letter of credit and back-leveraged term facilities totalling USD 275 million (EUR 260m), according to a press statement published today. The company obtained the financing from a syndicate of five banks, including Rabobank, Santander, NORD/LB and CIT. KeyBank acted as coordinating lead arranger.

The parties gave no details about the transaction that would give Southern Power control over the facility.

The Roserock project in Pecos County has already entered the construction phase, with McCarthy Building Companies being the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor. The scheme involves mounting some 700,000 Canadian Solar photovoltaic (PV) modules on single axis trackers. It is expected to reach commercial operation in late 2016, when it will start selling its output to Austin Energy pursuant to a 20-year contract.

This is Southern Power’s first solar project in Texas and its 20th solar purchase in total. The company is a unit of energy firm Southern Co (NYSE:SO).

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