It's been a busy year for renewable energy conglomerate SunEdison. Since acquiring Boston-based developer First Wind last November for $2.4 billion, SunEdison and yieldco TerraForm Global have been one of the most acquisitive energy brands on the planet.
As a follow-up to First Wind, SunEdison struck deals to buy renewable energy projects and invest in energy storage technology.
Ahmad Chatila, SunEdison's president and CEO, remarked shortly after that the deals make the company ‘the leading power plant developer in the world.’
Now, in the span of a week, the company is backing up its leader's claim.
That's because four days after the company acquired India developer Continuum Wind Energy, the company's yieldco, TerraForm Global, received a major cash infusion from GE.
Continuum owns and operates 242 MW wind power plants in the Maharashtra and Gujarat states, as well as 170 MW of wind power under construction in the Madhya Pradesh state, and has more than 1,000 MW of wind power plants in development across six states in India.
The definitive agreement was signed on June 12 with closing expected in the third quarter. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals, third-party consents and certain closing conditions.
SunEdison says it intends to place the power plants acquired from Continuum on the operational call rights list for TerraForm Global.
Speaking of the yieldco, GE agreed to make a $25 million investment in the company.
The agreement is expected to help support new wind pipeline opportunities for TerraForm Global, and GE also will provide lifecycle operations and maintenance support for TerraForm's international wind fleet.
The two companies have also agreed to continue exploring additional opportunities for growth-oriented collaboration.
With the deals, ‘SunEdison is taking aggressive steps to establish a presence in developing markets by taking on both existing assets and experienced development arms to secure future growth,’ notes Ryan Moody, North American market analyst at MAKE Consulting.
‘These acquisitions, once finalized, will bring up the tally of operating wind assets intended for Terraform Global to more than 1 GW across eight emerging markets, plus several more gigawatts in the development pipeline.’
Moody adds that although such geographic diversity is a strength, he cautions, ‘It will also require additional resources to manage operations and development across such a wide footprint.’
Moody characterizes the GE investment as a ‘significant vote of confidence from the largest wind turbine manufacturer in the U.S.’
Additionally, Moody says, the partnership will be a strategic advantage for both companies.
‘GE will gain insider access to potentially supply a huge backlog of planned projects, while SunEdison will have a connection to a turbine original equipment manufacturer with a stake in the success of its projects’
