CC&L Infrastructure buys 563 MW EDPR portfolio in US for $684 million

EDP Renováveis (EDPR), the renewable division of Portuguese power company EDP, has completed the sale of an 80% stake in a wind and solar portfolio with an installed capacity of 563 MW located in the United States to Canadian investment group Connor, Clark & Lunn Infrastructure for $684 million.

CC&L Infrastructure announced in September that it had entered into an agreement with EDPR to acquire the assets, which have increased the capacity of the firm’s clean energy portfolio to more than 1 GW. The company partnered with Canadian financial services cooperative Desjardins Group on the acquisition, which includes five renewable power projects with a total capacity of 563 MW.

EDPR will retain a minority equity interest and continue to operate and manage the plants.

CC&L Infrastructure said the acquisition provided “a geographically diversified portfolio of wind and solar assets, backed by long-term off-take contracts and located across three distinct U.S. electricity markets”.

The portfolio includes four operating wind parks with an aggregate installed capacity of more than 360 MW located in Indiana, Wisconsin, Oklahoma and Ohio, and a 200 MW construction-stage solar project in Indiana, which is expected to be operational by the end of 2021.

The renewable energy plants are fully contracted through power purchase agreements. The off-takers include a group of local electric generation and transmission cooperatives.

CC&L Infrastructure’s latest investment leaves the company with approximately 1.4 GW of renewable power globally, including more than 1 GW in operation. The U.S. projects add to the company's existing assets in Canada and Chile.

On a combined basis, the operating facilities will be capable of producing approximately 4 million MW-hours of clean energy each year – enough energy to power more than 320,000 homes and offsetting the equivalent greenhouse gas emissions of more than 600,000 passenger vehicles for a year

For its part, EDPR recently announced a 20-year power purchase agreement in the U.S. for a 74 MW solar project located in North Carolina as well as another PPA for two solar projects in Ohio totaling 100 MW.

At the end of November, the company had 1.4 GW of new solar projects contracted, and its portfolio by 2022 will have added 1.6 GW of solar energy capacity.