Portfolio expands solar footprint in Montana
New York, NY, May 5, 2021 — Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC (“GREC”) announced today that, through a wholly-owned subsidiary, it purchased an 80 MWac pre-operational solar project from Broad Reach Power (“BRP”).
The project, MTSun Solar LLC, is currently under development in Yellowstone County, Montana, with an expected commercial operation date of July 2022. It has a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (“PPA”) in place with the investment-grade utility Northwestern Energy, enabling GREC to continue developing its strong relationship with a high-quality offtaker.
This transaction is the second between GREC and BRP, following the former’s purchase of the 80 MW Fall River solar project in South Dakota late last year. It is also GREC’s second solar project in Montana.
“We’re thrilled that our continued relationship with Broad Reach Power has allowed our fleet of renewable energy projects to exceed one gigawatt of power generation capacity,” said Charles Wheeler, CEO of Greenbacker. “The fact that this milestone coincides with Greenbacker Capital Management celebrating 10 years of sustainable infrastructure investing makes it all the more special.” (Greenbacker Capital Management, founded in 2011, is an external investment advisor for GREC.)
The achievement also comes shortly after the GREC portfolio’s total enterprise value passed $1 billion for the first time and just in time for GREC’s own five-year anniversary.
“We are confident in the future of the MTSun project in Greenbacker’s hands. We’ve enjoyed the continuation of our relationship with the GREC team and look forward to the positive impact the project will make in Montana,” said James Ferguson, Senior Vice President of Development at Broad Reach Power.
MTSun was developed by Broad Reach Power, an independent power producer (IPP) based in Houston which owns a 16-gigawatt portfolio of utility scale solar and energy storage power projects in Montana, California, Wyoming, Utah and Texas, and has a 25-year purchase power agreement signed with NorthWestern Energy.
With the acquisition of MTSun Solar, Greenbacker will own approximately 1.04 GW of generating capacity (including assets that are to be constructed), comprising 773.5 MW of utility-scale and distributed solar facilities, 242.6 MW of wind facilities, 15.5 MW of battery storage, and 12.0 MW of biomass facilities.