EDF Renewables North America (EDFR) and MEAG, acting as Munich Re’s global asset manager, have entered into a strategic partnership under which a subsidiary of Munich Re will acquire a 50 per cent stake in two renewable energy projects in California. The two projects include the Maverick 6 Solar-plus-Storage Project and the Maverick 7 Solar Project. The former has a capacity of 131 MW coupled with a 50 MW/200 MWh battery energy storage system, while the latter has a capacity of 179 MW. Both the projects primarily use horizontal single-axis tracking technology.
The projects are located in Riverside County within a Solar Energy Zone and Development Focus Area, managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Operations are likely to begin in December 2021. The two projects are expected to generate clean energy that would be enough to meet the average consumption of households in California. This would allow carbon emissions to reduce by more than 527,000 metric tons annually.
EDF Renewables North America has a renewable portfolio consisting of 20 GW of developed projects and 13 GW under service contracts. It is a subsidiary of EDF Renouvelables, the dedicated renewable energy affiliate of the French utility EDF Group.
MEAG, acting in its capacity as Munich Re’s global asset manager, has more than 1 GW of wind and solar assets in its portfolio, spread across Europe and the U.S. It has plans to substantially increase its investments in renewable energy in the US. Recently, MEAG also invested in a solar farm in California and various other regulated US water assets.
REGlobal’s Views: California has been ramping up its energy storage capacity to deal with its increasing renewable energy generation which can impact grid stability. Large developers and investors are acquiring attractive renewable energy and storage projects in the state which expected to offer good returns.
