Clearway Closes Financing and Starts Construction on Solar and Energy Storage Project in California

August 26, 2024
  • $550 million in construction financing closed on 140 MW solar and 118 MW storage Rosamond South I project in Kern County
  • Project contracted under long-term agreements with MCE, The University of California, and three municipal utilities

 

SAN FRANCISCO – Clearway Energy Group (“Clearway”) announced today that it closed $550 million in construction financing and started construction on its Rosamond South I solar and storage project in Kern County, California. Once complete, the 140 MW solar and 118 MW storage project will generate enough electricity to power over 63,000 homes every year.

“Kern County has long served as a critical provider of our country’s energy,” said Brooks Friedeman, Vice President of Capital Markets at Clearway. “We are pleased to invest in and help continue Kern County’s energy leadership legacy through our Rosamond South solar and storage project, which will provide reliable and low-cost power when needed most.”

Rosamond South 1, which is referred to as Golden Fields Solar IV LLC by its offtakers, is under long-term contracts with several California load-serving entities, including 15-year agreements with MCE, The University of California, Rancho Cucamonga Municipal Utility, Eastside Power Authority, and City of Moreno Valley.

To finance the $550 million construction loan for the solar and storage projects, Clearway assembled a bank consortium consisting of Societe Generale, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited Siemens Financial Services, Commerzbank, CoBank, DNB Bank ASA, and Nord/LB.

More than 400 union labor jobs will be created during construction, which is being led by the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. Labor partners included Laborers Union 220, Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters, Operating Engineers Local 12, IBEW Local 428, Ironworkers Local 416 and Local 433.

The project is expected to reach commercial operations in 2025 and will bring Clearway’s operating footprint in Kern County to over 1,500 MW of wind, solar, and energy storage, which together contribute over $20 million in property taxes to the county each year.

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