US-ROUND UP: Canadian Solar signs long term O&M contracts, EDF Renewables invests in solar-plus-storage projects

A round-up of the latest news from the US solar market, including developments from Canadian Solar, EDF Renewables and Altus Power.
Canadian Solar signs O&M contracts for US solar-plus-storage projects
7 September 2021: Canadian Solar has signed long-term O&M agreements with two solar-plus-battery storage projects in the US.
The Slate and Mustang projects were both developed by Canadian Solar’s subsidiary Recurrent Energy and are currently owned by Goldman Sachs.
The agreements cover the full Slate Project, which is a 300MWac solar plant designed with a 140MW / 561MWh battery energy storage system, and the storage component of the Mustang Project, which is a 100MWac solar plant retrofitted with a 75MW / 300MWh battery storage system. Both projects are located in Kings County, California.
EDF Renewables signs PPA with Clean Power Alliance
3 September 2021: EDF Renewables North America and the Clean Power Alliance have signed a 15-year PPA for the Desert Quartzite Solar-plus-Storage project that comprises a 300MWac solar project coupled with a 600MWh battery energy storage system, with delivery expected in February 2024.
Located on land in Riverside County, California, administered by the Federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the project will utilise horizontal single-axis tracking solar PV technology and is expected to generate 800 construction jobs.
“Our Board has identified solar-plus-storage as being key to our continued growth and a means to further improve reliability for our millions of customers,” said Clean Power Alliance executive director Ted Bardacke.
Altus Power upgrades funding facility to target C&I solar projects
7 September 2021: Altus Power has increased the size of its investment funding facility to US$503 million and reduced the facility’s interest rate, while also extending its term. It was used to fund the recent acquisition of a 79MW C&I portfolio of operating solar projects.
The company has refinanced its existing funding facility with Blackstone Credit’s Structured Products Group to add an additional US$135 million, creating the new US$503 total.
The new funding facility now carries a weighted average 3.51% annual fixed rate, reduced from the previous weighted average rate of 3.70%, and matures in February 2056.
Altus Power previously announced a business combination with CBRE Acquisition Holdings, which is expected to result in Altus Power becoming a public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, in a transaction that valued the C&I solar and storage developer at US$1.58 billion.