Clearway Energy Coasts into 2021 with Growing Slate of Solar, Wind Projects

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Renewable energy producer Clearway Energy (NYSE:CWEN) (Princeton, New Jersey) emerged from a rocky 2020 in a strong position, after securing a series of new wind and solar investments and acquiring several existing projects. One of its top customers, California utility PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) (San Francisco, California), emerged from bankruptcy, further brightening Clearway's prospects. Industrial Info is tracking more than $5.6 billion in active projects from Clearway, more than half of which is attributed to solar-generation projects.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing Clearway's active projects, by U.S. state.

Clearway announced in December that it would co-invest in 1.2 gigawatts (GW) worth of renewable energy projects developed by Clearway Energy Group, a portfolio company held by Clearway's controlling investor, Global Infrastructure Partners (New York, New York). These projects include the estimated $300 million first phase of the Daggett Solar Power Plant in Daggett, California, adjacent to Barstow-Daggett Airport. It is expected to generate 156 megawatts (MW) from photovoltaic (PV) modules, and it will be accompanied by an estimated $72 million battery-energy storage system (BESS) project. Both are set to begin construction before the end of the year. For more information, see Industrial Info's reports on Daggett Phase I and the BESS project.

Future plans for the Daggett project include (all values are estimates):

• $395 million Phase II, designed to generate 197.6 MW; see project report
• $96 million BESS project for Phase II; see project report
• $648 million Phase III, designed to generate 324.48 MW; see project report
• $150 million BESS project for Phase III; see project report

Other assets in the partnership with Clearway Energy Group include the $340 million Black Rock Windfarm in New Creek, West Virginia, which is under construction and set to be completed toward the end of 2021. It is expected to generate 110 MW from 23 Siemens Gamesa turbines. Clearway is preparing to begin construction this summer on an estimated $78 million BESS at the Mililani I Solar Farm in Honolulu, Hawaii, to provide backup power. For more information, see Industrial Info's reports on the Black Rock and Mililani BESS projects.

"We are now working with Clearway Group towards the next co-investment commitment that could comprise between 1.1 gigawatts (GW) and 1.7 GW of projects," said Christopher Sotos, the chief executive officer of Clearway, in an earnings-related conference call. "These projects will span a diverse set of geographies, including California, the Pacific Northwest and the Southwest including a mix of solar, wind and battery storage technology."

Earlier this month, Clearway acquired an additional 35% equity interest in NRG Energy Incorporated's (NYSE:NRG) (Princeton, New Jersey) Agua Caliente solar project in Dateland, Arizona, for $202 million. Clearway, which previously owned a 16% equity interest in the 290-MW facility, now has a 51% ownership. For more information, see Industrial Info's plant profile.

"We are very excited about being able to add a well-understood and long-tenured PPA [purchase price allocation] asset at such attractive economics," Sotos said of the Agua Caliente acquisition.

Clearway also is set to begin construction in fourth-quarter 2021 on the $220 million Barstow Solar Plant in Newberry Springs, California, which it acquired from SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR) (San Jose, California) in 2018. It is expected to generate 200 MW from ground-mounted, single-axis PV panels. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Clearway reported total operating revenues of $1.2 billion for 2020, a 16.2% increase from 2019. Net income for the full year stood at $25 million, compared with a net loss of $11 million in 2019.

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