Ørsted Farms Down Stake in US Solar Projects in $572MM Deal

Renewable energy producer Ørsted is divesting a 50% equity stake in three U.S. solar and battery storage projects to Energy Capital Partners (ECP), Ørsted said Dec. 18.

The transaction, valued at $572 million, includes the 468-megawatt (MW) Mockingbird Solar and the 250-MW Sparta Solar projects in Texas. It also includes the 300-MW Eleven Mile Solar Center and its 300-MW battery storage project in Arizona.

 All three projects are online with power purchase agreements in place, according to a news release.

“These projects are prime examples of the kind of large-scale clean energy infrastructure the U.S. needs to meet the growing demand for electricity,” said Matt Himler, principal at ECP. “We’re pleased to expand our partnership with Ørsted and to invest in their diversified portfolio of contracted solar and battery storage assets in high load growth markets.”

In 2022, ECP bought a 50% equity stake in three of Ørsted’s wind farms and one solar farm. The equity and credit investor is focused on electricity and sustainability infrastructure investments.

With the latest deal, Ørsted said it will retain a 50% equity ownership interest in the project and continue to serve as operator.

Earlier this year, Ørsted raised approximately $734 million in upfront proceeds from the projects from tax equity partner J.P. Morgan and signed its first long-term tax credit transfer agreement for Mockingbird, the company said in the release. The tax equity funding along with the divestment sales price lifts total proceeds for the three projects to about $1.3 billion.

“These transactions reflect our close engagement with a range of commercial partners, including our tax equity and transferability partners, which are all key to the growth of Ørsted’s US onshore portfolio,” James Giamarino, head of commercial for Ørsted’s Americas region, said in the release. “As we make further progress on our growth ambitions, we’ll use this recycled capital to continue the build-out of projects that create long-term value for our partners.”