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TerraForm Power

SunEdison Beats Own Forecast With Record Third Quarter, Stocks Plummet

by Joshua S Hill November 11, 2015

Despite a record third quarter delivery, the world’s largest global renewable energy development company, SunEdison, saw its stocks plummet 22%.

SunEdison has been under intense pressure over the last six months to perform across all metrics, a task that shareholders do not believe the company is living up to. In its third quarter financial earnings announcement, SunEdison revealed that it had delivered 640 MW through the quarter, smashing its own previous guidance of delivery between 540 MW to 600 MW. This puts the company up 343 MW year-over-year, with another 2.9 GW of projects under construction, and a pipeline of 7.9 GW and backlog of 5.5 GW.

The company brought in revenue of $476 million for the quarter, including reported adjusted revenue of $153 million from their widely publicized yieldco, TerraForm Power, and reported revenue of $29 million from the company’s newest yieldco, TerraForm Global.

However, despite relatively decent performance across the board from the company — and only slight losses for its two yieldcos — SunEdison also reported a loss of $0.92 per share — originally forecast to be only $0.60 per share — which subsequently managed to scare investors enough to cause the stock price to plummet.

“During the third quarter, we continued our track record of execution within the development business by delivering over 600 MW, more than double versus the prior year,” said Ahmad Chatila, SunEdison chief executive officer. “In addition, we made the difficult, but necessary decision to optimize our organization in the face of the current market conditions within the yieldco space. These changes will not only set up the business for long-term success, but also should position the development business to generate positive cash flow in mid 2016.”

MarketWatch is reporting that Wall Street has not lost any of its confidence in the company, despite its performance on the stock market today, with some analysts describing investors reaction to SunEdison’s earnings report as “unwarranted.”

SunEdison’s shares have been on a months-long downward-trend, after second quarter earnings which reported a net loss of $263 million that sent investors scurrying for safety — despite the confusion of many analysts. Investor reaction has forced SunEdison to refocus their attentions from acquiring capacity and equity, and to begin building up revenue. SunEdison announced that it would form a new $1 billion warehouse investment vehicle that it hoped would be the first sign it was turning their ship around, followed last month by the decision to lay off 15% of its work-force.

The long-term gains of SunEdison’s original acquisition-phase would have been of long-term benefit to investors, but short-term gains seem to be the order of business. The most telling factor will be the reaction over the next several months, and in particular, following the company’s fourth quarter and full-year 2015 earnings report due early next year.

November 11, 2015 0 comment

Investment PV Solar $Solar PV Manufacturing Yieldcos

SunEdison Creates $1 Billion Construction & Operating Asset Facility

by Joshua S Hill August 19, 2015

written by Joshua S Hill

SunEdison has announced that they will form a new $1 billion warehouse investment vehicle that will fund construction costs and acquire operating assets.

The decision comes on the heels of an odd market response to SunEdison’s record second quarter growth. SunEdison, the world’s largest clean energy developer, announced its second quarterly earnings earlier this month, including record growth and 1.9 GW worth of projects currently under construction. Nevertheless, shares fell as a response to the company’s $263 million net loss, as investors were left concerned over SunEdison’s many new acquisitions.

“SunEdison’s new $1 billion warehouse provides incremental capacity for SunEdison to construct and hold assets in advance of drop down to TerraForm Power,” stated Brian Wuebbels, SunEdison chief financial officer. “The WSIP Warehouse expands our capacity beyond our existing $1.5 billion First Reserve Warehouse and the $500 million dollar TerraForm Private Warehouse. Our new warehouse supports SunEdison’s 2016 guidance for growth, reinforces the depth of demand for investor participation in SunEdison’s warehouse platform and provides repeatable and scalable funding for the future.”

This new construction and operating asset warehouse investment vehicle will hopefully allay some investor fears.

The announcement includes involvement with West Street Infrastructure Partners III (WSIP), which will invest $300 million in equity (“subject to certain conditions”), and will be managed by Goldman Sachs. The debt structuring for the vehicle will be led by Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and Deutsche Bank, and will provide commitments of $700 million of debt in the form of a $500 million, five-year term loan, and a $200 million, four-year revolving credit facility.

SunEdison will be left with the ability to expand the facility by up to $1 billion, to a total of $2 billion, subject to certain conditions, and SunEdison’s initial yieldco, TerraForm Power, will have an exclusive call right over the warehoused assets.

“We are excited to partner with SunEdison as we seek to expand our portfolio of investments in solar and wind projects,” said Edward Pallesen, head of the Infrastructure Investment Group for the Americas within the Merchant Banking Division at Goldman Sachs. “SunEdison and TerraForm Power have a proven track record of delivering high quality renewable energy projects, and we are pleased to be able to support their future growth initiatives.”

August 19, 2015 0 comment

Investment Solar $Yieldcos

SunEdison & TerraForm Power Successfully Syndicate $280 Million Warehouse Loan

by Joshua S Hill August 14, 2015

written by Joshua S Hill

SunEdison, the world’s largest renewable energy development company, announced on Wednesday, in partnership with its yieldco, TerraForm Power, that it had successfully raised the necessary $280 million 7-year loan facility of TerraForm Private Warehouse.

The offering was oversubscribed, and in the end was eventually placed “with a diverse group of institutional investors.” The loan will bear an interest rate of LIBOR (London interbank offered rate), subject to a 1.0% floor, plus 4.0% in line with the initial guidance to the market.

TerraForm Private Warehouse was formed to hold 521 MW of acquired operating assets from Atlantic Power for a maximum period of 7 years. According to the original announcement, made back at the end of June, the warehouse facility was originally worth $525 million in aggregate size, and is likely to exist until TerraForm Power — which has exclusive call right over the assets held as part of the warehouse — can acquire them for its own portfolio.

The assets in question are located in Idaho and Oklahoma, are currently under contracted long-term PPAs with investment-grade utilities, and have a weighted average life of around 18 years.

August 14, 2015 0 comment

Investment PV Solar $Solar Projects Yieldcos

SunEdison Breaks Ground On 110 MW Solar Project In Chile

by Joshua S Hill July 31, 2015

written by Joshua S Hill

SunEdison has announced financial closure and beginning of construction on the 110 MW Quilapilun solar power plant in Chile.

SunEdison, the world’s largest renewable energy development company, revealed earlier this week that it had secured a $160 million, long-term, non-recourse debt financing arrangement with CorpBanca, one of the largest commercial banks in Chile, and DNB, Norway’s largest financial services group. The funds are set to be used for the development, construction, and operation of the Quilapilun solar power plant.

Concurrently, SunEdison also began construction on the Quilapilun solar power plant, located in the Metropolitan Region of Chile. Upon completion, which is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2016, Quilapilun will generate 242 GWh of electricity annually, which is the equivalent of powering 117,000 homes in the region. The project is also expected to eliminate more than 125,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, which is comparable to removing 28,000 cars from Chilean roads.

“This project is our first solar plant in the Metropolitan Region, and further advances our position as a renewable energy leader in Chile,” stated Carlos Barrera, SunEdison vice president for Latin America. “Solar energy has become cost competitive with other energy generation sources in the country. With solar, we are able to supply regulated market consumers with clean energy at lower prices than they pay now.”

Energy produced by the Quilapilun solar power plant will be sold to the regulated market through long-term power purchase agreements with local electricity utilities, and is expected to be the largest solar project in Latin America.

Once the project is complete and running, TerraForm Power — SunEdison’s yieldco — intends to acquire the project.

“Today’s announcement underscores the important role our call rights with SunEdison play on TerraForm Power’s growth strategy,” said Carlos Domenech, Chief Executive Officer of TerraForm Power. “This solar project more than doubles our footprint in the fast-growing Chilean solar market and provides significant value to our shareholders.”

July 31, 2015 0 comment

SunEdison Partners Huge Solar Energy Expansion With Morgan Stanley

Investment PV Rooftop Solar Solar $Solar Projects

SunEdison Launches Huge Solar Energy Expansion With Morgan Stanley

by Aisha Abdelhamid June 23, 2015

written by Aisha Abdelhamid

Partnering with Morgan Stanley to make tax equity financing available immediately, SunEdison is executing a major launch of an innovative power purchase agreement (PPA) product across seven states. With a newly expanded channel and sales platform, and through the recent acquisition of multiple residential power plants with SunEdison subsidiary TerraForm Power as the long-term asset owner, SunEdison is now firmly positioned to effectively serve every segment of the residential and small commercial solar power market.

June 23, 2015 0 comment

Community Solar Jobs PV Rooftop Solar Solar Policy Solar Projects

Big 22-Megawatt Rooftop Solar Deal For SunEdison & PermaCity In Los Angeles

by Zach February 15, 2015

written by Zach

SunEdison, one of the world’s leading solar power companies, is partnering with Los Angeles solar developer PermaCity to bring 22 megawatts (i.e., a lot) of solar power to more rooftops.

Essentially, the deal is that SunEdison, which will install and operate the solar power systems, will together with PermaCity lease rooftops where the solar power systems will be installed.

SunEdison will be earning money via a Beacon Bundled Solar contract it won from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) last July. That contract required involvement of a local solar developer. Apparently, PermaCity one SunEdison’s heart in some way.

PermaCity will be in charge of finding the rooftops to lease, which can be on public or private buildings, and will manage the leasing side of the projects.

SunEdison will provide the solar panels and manage the financing, as well as handle the installation and operation, as noted above.

Once the projects are fully installed, SunEdison subsidiary TerraForm Power will gain the option to own the projects. I know, it’s getting complicated here… such is business in the 21st century.

SunEdison and PermaCity are also building a 88-megawatt utility-scale solar farm under this Beacon Bundled Solar contract, aimed to be finished in 2016. In total, these two projects are expected to create around 700 jobs, and PermaCity has targeted the hiring of veterans and youth.

“PermaCity and SunEdison are undertaking an exciting initiative to add 22 megawatts of rooftop solar projects across Los Angeles,” said Jonathan Port, Chief Executive Officer of PermaCity.

Image: Los Angeles skyline by Neil Kremer (CC BY-ND 2.0)

February 15, 2015 0 comment

Community Solar Investment Solar Projects

$117 Million Solar Funding Closed By SunEdison

by Jake Richardson December 18, 2014

written by Jake Richardson

Solar technology manufacturer and developer SunEdison has closed a second round of funding with Barclays and Citi. It will be for distributed generation projects in the United States.

These projects will be in 12 states, including Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Others are in New England, the Mid-Atlantic and West Coast regions. Once completed, they will be sold to Terraform Power.

“The creation of this second fund, so soon after the first, speaks to the success of our relationship with Barclays and Citi. This latest round continues to support our business model of developing high quality commercial and industrial projects with efficient capital provided by great partners. This is a highly scalable model that allows us to make life easy for our customers. As a result, business is booming,” explained Ryan Bennett, a vice president of project finance at SunEdison.

Business is booming for commercial and industrial solar projects? You wouldn’t know it from the reporting of the mainstream press, however.

TerraForm Power is a global renewable energy company that invests in solar in various parts of the world. (It also owns wind, geothermal, and hydro projects.)

In the United States portfolio, there are 46 MW of solar projects in states like Arizona, California, and Massachusetts. They provide solar power to cities, schools, and corporations.

In the California portfolio, SunEdison has about 10 MW that supply electricity to prisons and one hospital.

SunEdison and TerraForm Power’s distributed generation projects have closed a total of $290 million.

Distributed energy is decentralized and often located near the load they supply electricity to, such as ground-mounted solar systems. It often uses renewable energy sources like solar, wind, and hydro. Distributed energy is used to supplement the main grid and enhance it.

The falling cost of solar PV has made it possible to continue expanding distributed solar power systems. It has even made this growth more predictable because solar power is no longer only a “green” thing — it is economically viable.

Image Credit: Public Domain

December 18, 2014 0 comment