OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Primergy Solar (“Primergy”) and Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners (“Quinbrook”) announced today that the Gemini Solar + Storage (“Gemini”) project in Clark County, Nevada is now fully operational. Gemini is the largest co-located solar plus battery energy storage system (BESS) project in the US, delivering clean, affordable power to communities in Las Vegas and beyond.
“Gemini broke the mold with a historic amount of solar and BESS, backed by the largest tax equity financing of its kind,” said Primergy CEO Ty Daul. “Achieving full commercial operations marks a significant technical and financial milestone for our team. We successfully navigated challenging supply chain and inflation issues through proactive planning and collaboration to bring this project online. We are grateful to our partners and investors for their commitment and shared vision in delivering clean energy to the western US.”
Gemini’s 1.8 million solar panels can generate up to 690 megawatts, powering approximately 10 percent of Nevada’s peak power demand. The solar arrays are co-located with 380 MW of 4-hour battery storage to provide Nevadans with 1,400 MWh of clean, reliable power after sundown. The project’s unique DC-coupled storage configuration enables the BESS to charge directly from the solar panels, resulting in increased efficiency and maximizing the capture and storage of solar energy directly on-site.
Primergy created and implemented an unprecedented framework for ecosystem management. To minimize environmental impacts, Primergy took measures to leave vegetation in place, installed solar panels to follow the ground’s natural contours, and reduced the project’s land footprint by over 20 percent through thoughtful design. Additionally, the project created approximately 1,300 union and prevailing wage jobs and contributed approximately $463 million to Nevada’s economy.
“Gemini creates a blueprint for holistic and innovative clean energy development at mega scale, and we are proud to have brought this milestone project to life and to have delivered so many positive impacts across job creation, environmental stewardship, and local community engagement,” said David Scaysbrook, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Quinbrook. “Quinbrook and Primergy have worked as one team to diligently navigate the inevitable challenges to bringing one of the largest ever solar and storage projects online. It’s a testament to the hard work and creativity of our teams – along with our many first-rate partners – that Gemini is now playing a meaningful part in delivering clean, affordable power to Las Vegas residents.”
During the project’s development, Primergy and Quinbrook closed on a historic $1.9 billion in debt and tax equity financing for construction and development. In October 2022, APG, the largest pension asset manager in the Netherlands, acquired a 49 percent equity ownership in Gemini on behalf of its pension fund client ABP. In April 2024, the remaining 51 percent of the project was acquired by the Quinbrook Valley of Fire Fund, with Blackstone Strategic Partners and Ares Management Infrastructure Secondaries funds as lead investors.
For more information on Primergy, please visit https://www.primergysolar.com/. For more information about Gemini, please visit www.primergygemini.com.
About Primergy Solar
Primergy Solar (https://www.primergysolar.com) is a developer, owner, and operator specializing in utility-scale solar PV and battery storage projects across the United States. The company manages a significant portfolio of operational and development-stage projects across major energy markets, including ERCOT, MISO, PJM, CAISO, WECC, and SERC. With a diverse and talented team bringing decades of expertise in renewable energy project development, financing, construction, and operations, Primergy Solar leads the industry in delivering innovative and sustainable energy solutions. Primergy Solar is a portfolio company of Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners and is the primary investment platform for Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners' solar and solar plus energy storage activities in North America.
About Quinbrook
Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners (http://www.quinbrook.com) is a specialist investment manager focused exclusively on the infrastructure needed to drive the energy transition in the UK, US, and Australia. Quinbrook is led and managed by a senior team of power industry professionals who have collectively invested c.USD 5.6 billion of equity capital in 43.3 GW of energy infrastructure assets since the early 1990s, representing a total transaction value of USD 48.3 billion. Quinbrook has completed a diverse range of direct investments in both utility and distributed scale onshore wind and solar power, battery storage, reserve peaking capacity, biomass, fugitive methane recovery, hydro and flexible energy management solutions in the UK, US, and Australia. Quinbrook is currently developing and constructing some of the largest renewables and storage infrastructure projects in the UK, US, and Australia.
