Google Inc. has invested $145 million in equity financing for the 82 MW Regulus solar plant under development by SunEdison in Kern County, Calif.
SunEdison developed, designed and is constructing the Regulus project, which was contributed to its yieldco subsidiary, TerraForm Power. The 737-acre photovoltaic facility is being built on an abandoned gas and oil field and will incorporate over 248,000 SunEdison monocrystalline modules.
The Regulus plant is scheduled to begin operations later this year and will supply power to Southern California Edison through a 20-year power purchase agreement. SunEdison will provide operations and maintenance services.
Prudential Capital Group and Santander Bank NA provided term financing for the project.
‘We believe the world needs a wide range of clean energy technologies, each serving different needs,’ says Nick Coons, renewable energy principal at Google. ‘This project with SunEdison presented an opportunity to take an old gas and oil field and turn it into a clean energy producing solar site.’
Google has signed agreements to fund over $1.5 billion in renewable energy investments worldwide, with a total planned capacity of more than 2.5 GW.
