Canadian Solar Inc.’s Recurrent Energy LLC subsidiary has sold the Maplewood 1 and Maplewood 2 solar projects to an annuity and life insurance company from the U.S.
Both projects, located in Pecos County, Texas, with a combined capacity of 250 MW AC, are currently under construction. They are expected to reach commercial operation before the end of Q3 2021.
Construction of the projects commenced in summer 2020 after Recurrent Energy closed $282 million of debt financing provided by a bank club led by Norddeutsche Landesbank and included Export Development Canada, Rabobank, National Bank of Canada and Bayerische Landesbank.
The Maplewood projects’ offtakers are Anheuser-Busch and Energy Transfer Partners. Anheuser-Busch will purchase the 222 MW AC from the Maplewood 1 project under a 15-year PPA. Maplewood 2 will deliver 28 MW AC of power to Energy Transfer Partners under a 15-year PPA.
Both projects utilize Canadian Solar’s high-efficiency bifacial modules.
“This transaction is Recurrent’s first major project sale with commercial and industrial (C&I) offtakers,” says Shawn Qu, chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar. “We already see that an increasing number of corporations and public sector organizations across the globe are directly contracting with renewable energy projects to serve their load. In particular, corporates are finding that solar energy can not only reduce their electricity costs but can also help them meaningfully reduce the carbon footprint of their operations. This is a particularly exciting milestone given the ongoing challenges posed by the global pandemic and is a testament that solar energy has truly entered into the mainstream.”
