Longroad Energy has begun construction of Umbriel Solar, a 202 MWdc (150 MWac) PV project located in Polk County, Texas. The project is the company’s sixth greenfield renewable energy project in Texas to reach financial close and is the company’s first project in the state’s MISO footprint.
Development of Umbriel began in 2017, and the project is expected to reach commercial operations by the end of this year.
“Texas continues to be an attractive market for solar development, and we are pleased to achieve financial close and begin construction on Umbriel,” said Adam Horwitz, VP of origination and development operations at Longroad Energy. “Umbriel’s closing marks over 1.7 GW of total wind and solar projects developed, financed and built in Texas by the Longroad team.”
Umbriel’s total output, enough to power more than 30,000 homes, will be purchased by Entergy Texas Inc. (ETI) through a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA).
“Umbriel Solar marks a major milestone, as it will be our first solar resource to come online, further diversifying our portfolio,” said Abigail Weaver, Entergy Texas director of resource planning and market operations. “Our communities are increasingly asking for clean-energy offerings, and this facility will provide affordable, reliable and sustainable energy for years to come.”
The debt facilities were provided by Zions Capital Markets as a coordinating lead arranger and administrative agent, Silicon Valley Bank as a coordinating lead arranger, and Rabobank as a joint lead arranger. Longroad separately arranged tax equity for Umbriel.
“We are pleased to have taken a leadership role in the financing for this important solar project,” said Robert Park, head of power and project finance at Zions Capital Markets. “This continues the longstanding relationship between Longroad and Zions.”
The project will be constructed by McCarthy Building Companies. During construction, Umbriel is projected to employ almost 300 people.
The major project vendors include:
- Domestically supplied Series 6/6+ modules by First Solar
- PV inverters supplied by Power Electronics
- Trackers supplied by Nextracker
- Operations and maintenance services will be provided by NovaSource and by Longroad’s affiliate Longroad Energy Services
During operations, the project is projected to generate over $9 million for the Livingston Independent School District (LISD), and over $4 million in tax revenue to Polk County. Longroad extends thanks to the staff and officials at the LISD and Polk County for their support and collaboration throughout development and construction of the Umbriel project.
Tags: Longroad Energy, utility-scale
