US outfit 8minute Solar Energy has sold equity interests in the 67MW Lotus solar farm in California to Allianz Global Investors for an undisclosed price.
The project, which is located in Madera County, is the first US solar project purchased by the infrastructure equity team at Allianz Global Investors.
Electricity from Lotus will be sold to Southern California Edison under a 20-year power purchase agreement, when it comes online in May 2020.
Construction started in August with Signal Energy providing engineering, procurement and construction services.
Suppliers include NEXTracker with its NX Horizon smart solar tracker and TMEIC with 14 of its Ninja 4200 central inverters.
CIT and Nord LB are providing a construction loan, letter of credit and term loan facility for the project.
8minute Solar Energy president and chief executive Tom Buttgenbach said: “California and Southern California Edison continue to lead the transition to 100% clean energy and that leadership is attracting investment from all across the world.
“We are proud to collaborate with Allianz Global Investors’ US infrastructure equity team on the acquisition of their first US solar project.
“Their decades of expertise in the field of sustainability are a tremendous asset to our state and our industry.
“In addition, the Lotus solar farm offers a perfect example of how solar provides landowners the opportunity to earn reliable revenue while repurposing water constrained, low-productivity agricultural land.”
Allianz Global Investors chief investment officer infrastructure equity Armin Sandhoevel said: “As an experienced investor in the global renewable infrastructure sector, we’re excited by the current transformation of the US generation fleet towards renewable sources of power.
“The acquisition of the Lotus solar farm directly supports our mission to actively invest in the future of the US energy landscape by owning high-quality renewable power projects that promote a positive environmental impact.
“We look forward to a continued strong partnership with 8minute built upon efficient execution and aligned values.”