Tenaska obtains USD 450m for 150-MW California PV park

Jun 16, 2014 - US independent energy company Tenaska said Friday it had secured USD 450 million (EUR 332m) in financing for its 150-MW Imperial Solar Energy Centre West park in California.

This will be Tenasca’s second utility-scale facility in California. In November 2013, the company kicked off commercial operations at the 130-MW Imperial Solar Energy Centre South.

The commercial financing for the new 150-MW park was provided by a group led by Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (TYO:8306), French BNP Paribas (EPA:BNP), Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY), Spain-based Santander Bank (BME:SAN) and German lenders Helaba and DZ Bank.

The photovoltaic (PV) park near El Centro will be constructed by US-based First Solar Inc (NASDAQ:FSLR), which will also provide equipment for the facility. Construction works are slated to begin later this year, while commercial operations are scheduled for 2016. Once operational, the plant will sell its output to utility San Diego Gas & Electric Co (SDG&E) under a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA). The Solar Energy Centre West project is majority owned by an affiliate of Tenaska. An affiliate of Silver Ridge Power LLC, former AES Solar, is a minority shareholder in the scheme.

Tenaska has about 5,000 MW of natural gas-fueled and renewable energy projects in pre-financing development, including 250 MW of solar schemes in California, it noted.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.739)

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