Canadian Solar announced Monday that one of its wholly owned subsidiaries had signed over controlling interest in the 200 MW Tranquillity Solar Power Project.
Recurrent Energy, one of North America’s largest solar project developers, is the Canadian Solar subsidiary that is developing the 200 MW Tranquillity Solar Power Project, and will hand over controlling interest in the project to Southern Power, itself a subsidiary of Southern Company, an American electric utility holding company based in the southern United States.
The agreement, announced earlier this week, will see Southern Power acquire approximately 51% of the Tranquillity Solar Power Project, while Canadian Solar will retain the remaining 49%, as well as contribute its share of the investment required to complete the construction of the project. Canadian Solar had already fully financed the construction phase of the Tranquillity Solar Power Project through a construction and back-leveraged loan facility with a syndicate of six separate banks.
“The Tranquillity project is an attractive opportunity for investors, providing long-term stable cash flows,” said Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar. “This transaction is another example of solar power’s move into the mainstream energy mix, and it shows our broader team’s ability to attract top-notch investors to finance our high-quality projects.”
The Tranquillity Solar Power Project is expected to reach construction completion in the fourth quarter of 2016, and is set to generate enough electricity the equivalent needed to power approximately 55,000 homes. A 15-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) has already been signed with Southern California Edison, conveniently placed to receive the electricity generated at the 1,900 acre project site in Fresno County.
