MILAN & CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ContourGlobal announced its entrance into the U.S. renewables market with the acquisition of a 151 MW solar portfolio composed of two projects in South Carolina. The deal involves the transaction of late-stage development assets, with commercial operation planned to start in 2029.
The projects have signed long-term PPAs, and all grid interconnection studies have been completed at the time of the transaction. At peak capacity, the two solar PV plants will produce more than 272,000 MWh / year and provide enough electricity to power almost 26,000 U.S. households.
The deal aligns with ContourGlobal’s strategy of growing in renewables through the organic development of new projects, and the company will be responsible for the construction, operation and maintenance of the plants. The South Carolina projects will benefit from the latest developments in solar technology, which the company is already deploying in other repowering and revamping PV projects, namely in Europe. By employing state-of-the-art solar modules, inverters and electrical equipment, the green power produced by the future plants will avoid emissions of almost 109,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, the equivalent of removing the combined emissions of more than 23,000 passenger vehicles every year.
The assets have been acquired from Sun Tribe Development, a Virginia-based developer active in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast United States, with CRC-IB serving as exclusive buy-side advisor to ContourGlobal and EOS Capital serving as exclusive sell-side advisor to Sun Tribe.
Antonio Cammisecra, ContourGlobal CEO commented, “The acquisition of these solar PV assets, currently in the late development stage and supported by a valuable PPA with stable revenue, marks our entry into the U.S. renewables market, where we anticipate significant future growth. This transaction, with a reliable development partner such as Sun Tribe, is the first success of ContourGlobal’s newly formed global Business Development team, which fully focuses on accelerating our growth in renewables and on the progressive decarbonization of our thermal portfolio. Our Engineering & Construction is now tasked with ensuring smooth project execution and harvesting the latest technological improvements that will come to the market as we begin construction.”
Danny Van Clief, Sun Tribe Development CEO stated, “As the developer of record for this portfolio, this transaction epitomizes our business plan in the region. We view ourselves as working in service of landowners, communities, offtakers, and sophisticated owner-operators such as ContourGlobal. We are accordingly grateful to have achieved this important milestone and wish our partners full success during construction and operation.”
About ContourGlobal – ContourGlobal, a KKR Company, is an established Independent Power Producer (IPP) developing, acquiring and operating electricity generation assets worldwide. The company currently manages more than 5.6 GW of installed capacity in 18 countries across Europe, Africa, Asia, North and South America. With a current share of renewables capacity below 30%, the company has committed to speed up the decarbonization of its portfolio with a sustainable transition of its thermal fleet, the repowering of existing renewable assets and the organic development of new renewable projects. ContourGlobal has a track record of almost 20 years of experience in partnering with communities, institutions and customers that benefit from its power supply through long-term contracts or innovative PPAs, coupled with energy management solutions.
About Sun Tribe Development – As developer of record for solar and battery storage projects at the utility scale, Sun Tribe Development partners with leading utilities, IPPs, landowners, municipalities, and Fortune 500 companies as they move towards a cleaner energy future. Headquartered in Virginia, the company has completed the development of twenty projects and nearly 800 megawatts alongside a pipeline of more than 3 gigawatts located in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast United States. For more information, please visit https://suntribedevelopment.com.
