SunEdison, Riverstone to partner in solar power JV

Publicly-listed SunEdison, a developer, owner and operator of solar power plants, has agreed to acquire a 50 percent ownership stake in Silver Ridge Power (SRP), a joint venture between Riverstone Holdings and AES Corporation, from an AES subsidiary.

“Under the agreement, AES will sell its interest in solar PV [photovoltaic] projects in operation and under development in Europe, India and the United States for an equity purchase price of $165 million,” AES said in a separate statement.

Through its ownership in the Silver Ridge Power joint venture, Missouri-based SunEdison will own 50 percent of 336 megawatts (MW) of solar power plant operating projects and a 40 percent interest in the Tenaska Imperial Solar Energy Centre West, a 183MW solar power facility in California to be completed in 2016.

SunEdison will also have the option of acquiring AES’ 50 percent ownership in 130MW of solar PV projects in Italy for an additional $42 million by August 2015.

Once the acquisition is completed – it is expected to close in late June, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals – a Riverstone affiliate will continue to own 50 percent of Silver Ridge Power, whose assets include the currently operating 266MW Mt. Signal solar project in California.

“After closing, Riverstone and SunEdison expect the joint venture to contribute the Mt. Signal project to SunEdison’s yieldco subsidiary,” SunEdison said.

Once the Tenaska Imperial West project is finished, SunEdison expects to acquire Riverstone’s share of SRP’s interest in the solar plant and to contribute a total of 40 percent interest in Tenaska Imperial West to SunEdison’s yieldco subsidiary in 2016.

Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, Silver Ridge Power (formerly known as AES Solar) is a global solar power company that develops, constructs, owns and operates utility-scale solar PV power generation plants in seven countries.

Founded in New York in 2000, Riverstone is an energy and power-focused private investment firm. It has raised approximately $27 billion of equity capital and has committed approximately $26.1 billion to 108 investments in North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia.

The firm conducts buyout and growth capital investments in the exploration and production, midstream, oilfield services, power and renewable sectors.