08 Jul 2020 | 21:52 UTC — Houston

Capital Dynamics, Tenaska team up to deliver 4.8 GW of solar to MISO, SERC

Highlights

Aim to build 24 solar facilities starting in 2023

Capital Dynamics seeks geographic diversity

Asset management firm Capital Dynamics and independent power producer Tenaska said Wednesday they are forming a "new strategic relationship" to build 24 solar facilities with 4.8 GW of capacity in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator and SERC Reliability Corporation footprints.

"We expect to build the projects in MISO and SERC in 2023," Beloit Allehaut, managing director of Capital Dynamics' Clean Energy Infrastructure business told Platts in an email on Wednesday.

The companies said in joint statement that the portfolio represents "a large share of solar projects currently in the MISO and SERC interconnection pipelines" and will help Capital Dynamics to diversify what it called its "growing utility-scale solar power portfolio" across seven new states.

The announcement said that Tenaska – through its solar development services group Tenaska Solar Ventures – will work with Capital Dynamics to commercialize the solar projects.

The "new" relationship announced Wednesday is similar to a November 2018 announcement of an agreement between Capital Dynamics and Tenaska to develop 2,000 MW in the MISO market, with a particular focus on Michigan, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and Minnesota.

"The SERC/MISO portfolio announcement today is additive to the MISO portfolio announcement in November 2018," said Tenaska spokesperson Timberly Ross.

According to Allehaut, "We have several partnerships with Tenaska. This new partnership is distinct and offers a different geographical footprint in MISO and an expansion into SERC."

Allehaut claimed that Capital Dynamics is "the second largest owner of solar in the US," and that it "pragmatically acquires high-quality long-term power purchase agreements. "

According to a July 6, MISO Generation Interconnection Queue status report, 1,388 MW of solar generation capacity is due to come online by the end of 2020, with 669 MW slated to be operational by September 1.

Other projects

Tenaska said that it and its affiliates manage operations for 8,200 MW of power generation, consisting of 12 power plants owned by Tenaska in partnership with other companies and directly operating 7,700 MW.

Tenaska brought online several years ago two solar facilities located in the Imperial Valley in California near the border with Mexico that had 354 MW of combined capacity, and in July 2018, Capital Dynamic's Clean Energy Infrastructure team took equity stakes in the C-Solar projects.

On Wednesday, Capital Dynamics said it owns 28% of the combined C-Solar projects, while Tenaska owns 71.2%.

Since the equity acquisition, Capital Dynamics has been on an asset-buying spree and now owns 1,272 MW of solar capacity.

In January, the New York-based investment group whose parent company is headquartered in Switzerland, purchased the 400-MW Eland project to be located in in Kern County, California, from 8minute Solar Energy for an undisclosed sum.

That project, located outside Los Angeles, is being built with a 300-megawatt/1,200-megawatt-hour energy storage facility, and is expected to come online in 2023.

Also in January, Capital Dynamics and 8minute Solar Energy joined forces and bought the 387-MW Eagle Shadow Mountain Project slated for Nevada.

"While we continue to grow our portfolio in California and Nevada, both states where we already have a large portfolio, we continue to grow a national presence. We are completing the construction of projects in Oregon, we recently closed the acquisition of the Coronal portfolio which added operating assets in Florida, Tennessee, Arizona and California," Allehaut said Wednesday.

Q1 2020 solar sales

According to quarterly data filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and compiled by S&P Global Platts, Tenaska was ranked 24th among more than 550 wholesale power sellers in the first quarter of 2020.

The Omaha, Nebraska-based company had 11.48 million MWh of wholesale power sales, with 2.39 million MWh sold in the PJM Penelec, or Pennsylvania Electric Zone, 1.77 million MWh sold in the PJM Meted, or Metropolitan Edison Zone, and 1.05 million MWh sold in the Southern Company balancing area.

However, Tenaska's wholesale solar power sales in Q1 totaled just 116,164 MWh, giving it a ranking of 21st out of 80 companies who reported their solar sales to FERC.

Tenaska, which announced on May 18 that its 242-MW Clear Creek wind facility in Missouri had become fully operational, had 141,885 MWh of wholesale wind sales in Q1 2020, giving it a ranking of 70th out of the 105 companies who reported wind sales to FERC.

Capital Dynamics, on the other hand, was ranked fifth in terms of wholesale solar power sold in Q1 2020, with just under 600,000 MWh sold. The bulk of its sales were in the California Independent System Operator market.

Among wholesale wind power sellers, Capital Dynamics was ranked 35th, with 414,000 MWh sold.

Q1 2020 WHOLESALE SOLAR SALES
SELLER COMPANY
MWH
$/MWH
MW
ST
CUSTOMER
CAPITAL DYNAMICS
64KT 8ME LLC
51,889
51.97
90
CA
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PUBLIC POWER AUTHORITY
AMERICAN FALLS SOLAR LLC
7,798
26.24
20
ID
IDAHO POWER CO
AMERICAN FALLS SOLAR II LLC
8,132
24.03
20
ID
IDAHO POWER CO
CA FLATS SOLAR 130 LLC
64,869
62.94
130
CA
APPLE ENERGY LLC
CA FLATS SOLAR 150 LLC
69,165
55.48
150
CA
PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC CO
CSOLAR IV WEST LLC
18,523
96.79
38
CA
SAN DIEGO GAS & ELECTRIC CO
GASNA 6P LLC
6,725
53.09
20
CA
PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC CO
GASNA 36P LLC
429
59.07
2
CA
PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC CO
IMPERIAL VALLEY SOLAR 3 LLC
82,515
45.69
252
CA
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON CO
KINGBIRD SOLAR A LLC
11,211
68.50
20
CA
CITY OF PASADENA CA
KINGBIRD SOLAR B LLC
11,094
68.75
20
CA
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PUBLIC POWER AUTHORITY
MOAPA SOUTHERN PAIUTE SOLAR LLC
135,389
87.69
250
NV
LOS ANGELES DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND POWER
SOLAR STAR CALIFORNIA XIII LLC
48,931
92.70
108
CA
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON CO
SOLAR STAR COLORADO III LLC
26,771
59.90
52
CO
PUBLIC SERVICE CO OF COLORADO
SUNE BEACON SITE 2 LLC
26,103
56.06
45
CA
LOS ANGELES DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND POWER
SUNE BEACON SITE 5 LLC
20,398
57.35
36
CA
LOS ANGELES DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND POWER
MARYLAND SOLAR LLC
6,051
NA
20
MD
NA
Total
595,994
1,272
TENASKA
CSOLAR IV SOUTH LLC
60,595
127.15
130
CA
SAN DIEGO GAS & ELECTRIC CO
CSOLAR IV WEST LLC
55,570
96.79
113
CA
SAN DIEGO GAS & ELECTRIC CO
Total
116,164
243
Source: Government filings compiled by S&P Global Platts

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