Longroad Energy’s Sun Streams 2 project has completed financing and entered commercial operations in Maricopa County, Ariz.
Longroad owns 100% of the 200 MW project. The company acquired it in early 2021 from First Solar, the original developer and supplier of the project’s Series 6 modules. Sun Streams 2 has a 20-year revenue agreement with Microsoft Corp. for the energy, RECs and capacity of the full project to support the renewable energy goals of Microsoft’s new sustainable datacenter region, West US 3.
CIBC was the coordinating lead arranger, collateral agent and issuing bank. Silicon Valley Bank served as coordinating lead arranger and administrative agent. Helaba participated, and PNC Bank was the sole tax equity investor.
Mark Williams, managing director for PNC’s Renewable Energy Finance Group, says, “This project underscores our commitment to supporting customers and communities throughout the U.S. with financing for high-quality renewable assets.”
The project was built by McCarthy, the trackers were supplied by Nextracker and the inverters were supplied by SMA. Longroad’s affiliate, Longroad Energy Services, as asset manager and operator, is providing remote monitoring services to the project over the long term.
Sun Streams 2 is one of four Maricopa County-based projects that Longroad acquired from First Solar in February. The PV and storage portfolio totals approximately 900 MW, with the potential for 1-2 GWh of battery storage. Sun Streams 3, 4 and 5 are development projects with target operational dates between 2022 and 2024. These projects are ideally positioned to accommodate a variety of off-take structures, with or without storage, says Longroad.
The projects are expected to generate over $40 million for Arizona’s schools via a long-term lease with the Arizona State Land Department, as well as over $5 million in tax revenue.
