Skyline Renewables expands with 250MW project acquisition

Skyline Renewables, a Portland-based renewables company backed by Ardian, a leading private investment house, has announced it will finance and manage the construction of a 250MW solar project in Central West Texas.

Acquired from 8minute Solar Energy, the Galloway I Solar Project, is scheduled for operation by the end of 2021. With this latest acquisition, Skyline Renewables will grow its renewable energy portfolio to more than 1050MW of controlled capacity since its formation two years ago.

"We're very pleased to be adding such a robust solar project in the dynamic Texas energy market," says Martin Mugica, Skylines Renewables president & CEO. "This latest project marks another important step forward to becoming a leading North American clean independent energy platform. It helps balance our portfolio's renewable energy mix, giving us peak power flexibility and diversity within ERCOT and allows us to better assist the market when they need it the most."

Skyline Renewables first acquisition was Whirlwind Energy – a 60MW project in North-West Texas in 2018. It then acquired Hackberry Wind Farm, a 166MW farm also in NW Texas. Later that year, Skyline also announced the acquisition of Horse Creek and Electra Wind Farms, both 230MW projects all in the ERCOT market.

In 2019, the company acquired a 117MW portfolio of wind projects in Iowa, Kansas, Pennsylvania and Wyoming. 

"The Galloway project is an excellent addition to the Skyline portfolio, and the latest example of the Skyline management team's commitment to building a best-in-class renewable independent power company," adds Mark Voccola, senior managing director and co-head of Ardian Infrastructure US. 

"We're happy to partner with Skyline on this transaction, which is emblematic of Ardian's ongoing commitment to investing in clean energy assets and creating a more sustainable energy market."

The latest Texan solar project is part of Ardian’s ongoing commitment to support the energy transition, as outlined in its recent Augmented Infrastructure report. Focusing on the energy and transportation sectors, the Ardian Infrastructure team has $15 billion total AUM in infrastructure and 50 employees across eight offices throughout the Americas and Europe.

"The successful project financing is further proof that the markets see our strategic position and our partnership with Ardian as a strong foundation for further growth," continues Mugica. 

"We'll continue to take this same approach in all parts of the country actively managing our assets to optimise returns and staying nimble yet smart and innovative with our growth opportunities."

Morgan Stanley Renewables Inc. is the sole tax equity investor and Morgan Stanley Capital Group Inc. along with an unnamed major energy marketer are off takers for the project.

A consortium of banks led by CIT and joined by Rabobank, Commerzbank, DNB Capital and Siemens Financial are providing construction financing. No additional financing details have been disclosed, the statement concludes.