Hannon Armstrong Invests in 1.6 GW Renewable Energy Portfolio of Clearway Energy

Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, a leading investor in climate solutions, today announced a preferred equity investment in an approximately 1.6 gigawatt (GW) onshore wind and utility-scale solar portfolio developed and managed by Clearway Energy Group, one of the largest developers and operators of clean energy in the United States with a pipeline of 9 GW of renewable energy through 2022.

The large-scale, diversified, and highly contracted renewables portfolio includes 874 megawatts (MW) of onshore wind, 192 MW of utility-scale solar, and 557 MW of utility-scale solar with 395 MW of co-located storage (seven projects in total) located in four states: California, Hawaii, Texas, and West Virginia. The partnership combines Hannon Armstrong’s expertise in providing long-term investment for climate solutions with the world-class development and asset owner-operator experience of Clearway Energy Group.

“We are pleased to expand our relationship with Clearway Energy Group through a preferred equity investment in this portfolio of renewable assets,” said Hannon Armstrong Chairman and CEO Jeffrey W. Eckel. “Clearway’s mission to accelerate the world’s transformation to a clean energy future is aligned with our purpose as a climate-positive investor. These assets will be a significant addition to our portfolio, offering increased scale and diversity to our business and supporting continued growth in recurring Net Investment Income,” added Eckel.

“We are thrilled to partner with Hannon Armstrong on such an impactful portfolio transaction,” said Craig Cornelius, Chief Executive Officer at Clearway Energy Group, LLC. “This geographically diverse portfolio of wind, solar, and energy storage projects represents the economic opportunity of renewable energy in every corner of this country. Taken together, more than 2,500 American jobs will be created to build and operate these clean energy assets, which will go on to supply clean low-cost power to hundreds of thousands of households and businesses across the United States. This agreement with our investment partners will be pivotal in Clearway’s continued ability to provide clean energy at the scale our country demands while helping to deliver on investors’ growing interest in climate change solutions.”

In accordance with the terms of the investment, which reached financial close on December 21, 2020, Hannon Armstrong will hold a preferred equity interest in a number of holding companies owning the cash equity interests in individual portfolio operating projects and will participate in the cash flows from such projects. Hannon Armstrong has funded approximately $200 million of its investment to date and anticipates funding the remaining portion in 2021 and 2022. Once fully funded, Hannon Armstrong’s total investment in the portfolio will be approximately $663 million.

The remaining ownership of cash equity interests in the holding companies will be held by Clearway Energy, a publicly-traded affiliate of Clearway Energy Group focused on ownership of modern, sustainable, and long-term contracted assets across North America. Clearway Energy Group will continue to manage the assets and provide operations and maintenance services.

Highlights

• The portfolio includes three wind, one solar, and three solar-plus-storage projects representing approximately 1.6 GW of renewable energy generation and 395 MW of storage capacity, including:
  • Daggett Solar: a 482 MW utility-scale solar project with 320 MW of co-located storage located in San Bernardino County, California.
  • Mesquite Star: a 419 MW wind project located in Fisher and Nolan County, Texas.
  • Mesquite Sky: a 345 MW wind project located in Callahan County, Texas.
  • Rosamond Central: a 192 MW utility-scale solar project located in Kern County, California.
  • Black Rock: a 110 MW wind project in Mineral and Grant County, West Virginia.
  • Waiawa and Mililani: a 36 MW utility-scale solar project and a 39 MW utility-scale solar project with a combined 75 MW of co-located storage located in Oahu, Hawaii.
• With a weighted average contract life of greater than 14 years, the portfolio’s cash flows are contracted with a diversified group of predominately investment-grade corporate, utility, university, and municipal offtakers.
• With a CarbonCount® score of 1.06 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) reduced annually per $1,000 invested, Hannon Armstrong’s investment will avoid an estimated 703,000 metric tons of CO2e annually, equivalent to the CO2e emissions from the annual electricity consumption of approximately 119,000 U.S. homes.