AES Corp. has agreed to sell its 50% stake in Silver Ridge Power LLC (SRP), a joint venture with Riverstone Holdings LLC, to SunEdison Inc. Under the agreement, AES will sell its interest in solar photovoltaic projects in operation and under development in Europe, India and the U.S. for an equity purchase price of $165 million.
Through its ownership in the SRP, SunEdison will own 50% of a 336 MW portfolio of operating solar power plants, including the 266 MW Mount Signal solar project in California. The stake also confers a 40% interest in the 150 MW Tenaska Imperial Solar Energy Center West solar power facility to be completed in 2016. Â
In addition, AES will receive approximately $50 million in proceeds from Google's tax equity investment in the Mount Signal project, which achieved commercial operation in April.
SunEdison also has an option to acquire AES' 50% ownership in 130 MW of solar PV projects in Italy for an additional $42 million by August 2015. This agreement does not include the sale of AES' 50% stake in the remaining 55 MW of solar PV projects in Puerto Rico and Spain.
Following the acquisition, the remaining 50% of SRP will continue to be held by an affiliate of Riverstone. After closing, Riverstone and SunEdison expect the joint venture to contribute the Mt. Signal project to SunEdison's yieldco subsidiary.
SunEdison also expects to acquire Riverstone's share of SRP's interest in Tenaska Imperial Solar Energy Center West and contribute this to its yieldco in 2016.
‘SRP has several strong projects in operation,’ says Ahmad Chatila, CEO of SunEdison. ‘We're looking forward to working with Riverstone, a recognized leader in energy project finance and investing, to continue to monetize SRP's operating projects.’
