Leeward targeting affordable scale from First Solar 10GW pipe

• Renewable energy company Leeward is backing its purchase of First Solar's 10GW project pipeline to enable it to contend within the US' solar landscape.

Leeward Renewable Energy, a Texas-based personal firm established by Canadian pension fund OMERS, was up until just recently far better known in the energy sector for its 2GW wind portfolio, but unveiled a plan to get First Solar's 10GW-strong US solar pipe for US$ 261 million last month. The offer, which is to close this spring, stands to place Leeward as a significant gamer in the United States solar market.

Jason Allen, Leeward's chief executive, informed PV Tech the company had already functioned to develop "just under 4GW" of solar growth over the past 2 years. However, as First Solar revealed strategies to offload its project pipeline as well as focus on its manufacturing company, he said it was "simply an excellent possibility to accelerate our growth, as well as with them having near term projects that will begin building and construction this year, to actually fill a void".

First Solar initially offered its O&M company to Canadian exclusive equity firm Clairvest last August as well as announced its purpose to unload more endeavors to concentrate on manufacturing. The take care of Leeward, which was first revealed last month, comprises the majority of First Solar's United States project pipeline, with solar plants prepared for advancement in states such as Georgia, Florida, Virginia, The Golden State, Nevada, Utah as well as Arizona, Allen stated. The existing Leeward portfolio concentrates on the Midwest, western states at Texas. Allen informed PV Tech that renewable energy consumers "are really searching for projects near lots," so the latest procurement "enables us to supply to virtually anyone throughout the United States currently with our impact."

Allen, who ended up being the firm's Chief Executive Officer last November after working as its chief running policeman given that 2017, said that it was very important that Leeward's development out there remained "methodical" and "slow-moving" in its early years. "As a result of the affordable nature of the space you, you require to do it well if you're mosting likely to do well," he said. "So we took an extra methodical slow-moving method ... to supply the ideal worth to our to our owner."

Although Leeward has actually only been energetic in the solar market for a fairly short time, with this new acquisition, Allen thinks the company can compete by concentrating on economic climates of scale. Leeward will be aided by the truth that senior members of First Solar's growth team will certainly join the business to support the solar portfolio's development.

" We have actually obtained a couple of projects that are, you know, sub 100MW, however everything we're taking a look at is large or utility-scale," including that companies expecting sustainable growth in the solar market "need to be servicing that range or have adjoining projects to truly have the ability to contend."

A hands-on method

Allen claimed that Leeward would certainly aim to secure EPC service provider deals for the 10GW portfolio, yet the company can take a much more hands-on strategy to operations as well as maintenance (O&M) over the coming years as even more solar projects come online.

Presently, Leeward tries to find long-lasting bids for service agreements with different warranty terms, as well as has found that from a cost-risk perspective, "it's been far better for us to wage those, as the large OEM companies will certainly tackle a great deal of danger". Nonetheless, as the solar portfolio expands, he claimed "there is a high likelihood we will self-operate those centers."