Investment grade solar power gets $362 million in green bonds

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Big money trusting big solar means big deals. Big deals get big headlines which make more and more customers call developers, who then have bigger portfolios to sell utilities.

Dominion Energy of Virginia has closed on its inaugural offering of green bonds. The $362 million in proceeds from the privately placed bonds will be used to cover capital deployed by Dominion Energy related to the acquisition, development and/or construction of 20 merchant solar projects with a total capacity of 574 MW-AC.

Barclays served as exclusive private placement agent for this bond offering and McGuireWoods LLP served as issuer’s counsel.

The 20 projects were placed in service between 2016 and 2018, and all have long term power purchase agreements (PPAs). The press release states that the PPAs were signed with “high-quality, investment-grade utility, municipal and corporate counterparties”.

Solar Projects

Project NameLocationCommercial
Operations Date
MW AC
Eastern Shore, LLCNew Church, VA10/30/201680
Summit Farms Solar, LLCMoyock, VA3/5/201760
Ridgeland Solar Farm I, LLCRidgeland, SC6/15/201710
98WI 8me LLCCalipatria, CA5/3/201730
Innovative Solar 37, LLCMorven, NC6/22/201779
Hecate Energy Clarke CountyWhite Post, VA7/26/201710
Fremont Farm, LLCFremont, NC11/20/20175
Moorings Farm 2, LLCLa Grange, NC9/11/20175
Hecate Energy Cherrydale, LLCCape Charles, VA10/25/201720
Pikeville Farm, LLCPikeville, NC11/21/20175
Sappony Solar, LLCStony Creek, VA11/30/201720
Correctional Solar, LLCBarhamsville, VA11/29/201720
Buckingham Solar I, LLCCumberland, VA11/30/201720
Southampton Solar I, LLCNewsoms, VA11/27/2017100
Clipperton Holdings LLCClinton, NC8/21/20165
Scott – II Solar, LLCPowhatan, VA11/29/201720
Moffett Solar 1, LLCRidgeland, SC12/22/201771
Wakefield Solar, LLCZebulon, NC12/22/20175
Mustang Solar, LLCRobbins, NC6/21/20185
Siler Solar, LLCSiler City, NCexpected 12/1/20184

No financial specifics were available.

DTE Electric had a green bond offering its own back in May – a 20-year offering to cover investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency investments. The Michigan utility hopes to pay 4.05% a year on the bonds over the term. At least eight banks participated in the deal, with the joint book-running mangers being Barclays, BNP Paribas, BofA Merrill Lynch and TDD Securities.

In its press release, DTE Electric noted they are the “fifth investment-grade energy company in the nation – and the first company in Michigan – to sell green bonds”.

Globally, green bonds in Q3 ’18 totaled $29.7 billion, with 293 unique issuances in the United States. For the year to date it is about $108 billion, roughly equal to last year’s total.

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