EDF Renewables North America (EDFR) and MEAG, acting in its capacity as Munich Re's global asset manager, today announced the closing on a strategic investment whereby a subsidiary of Munich Re acquired a 50% stake in two renewable energy projects in California totaling 310 megawatts (MWdc) of solar and 50 MW 200 MWh of battery storage.
EDF Renewables and MEAG/Munich Re announced last year that they had agreed to partner on the Maverick 6 Solar-plus-Storage Project 131 MWdc solar coupled with a 50 MW/200 MWh battery energy storage system, and the Maverick 7 Solar Project with a capacity of 179 MWdc. The projects, which utilize horizontal single-axis tracking technology, are located adjacent to one another in Riverside County California on federal lands within a Solar Energy Zone and Development Focus Area, managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Andres Estrada, Divestiture Portfolio Strategy Manager for EDF Renewables, commented, "We are excited to reach this critical milestone with MEAG. The renewable energy industry has experienced significant volatility over the past two years. While a predictable policy environment and reliable supply chain are key to the industry's growth, so is the steady, long-term approach to investing in the growth of the low-carbon economy from institutional partners like MEAG."
Dr. Alexander Poll, MEAG's Market Lead for U.S. Infrastructure Investments, said, "Maverick 6&7 are another significant step to further increase the North American renewables portfolio for Munich Re, after MEAG's most recent investments in the area. Given Munich Re's strong position in the U.S. insurance market, we are fully committed to additional growth in the renewables space in the United States."
Martin Kaufmann, Senior Vice President MEAG U.S. Infrastructure Investments, added, "We are very pleased about this transaction and are looking forward to continuing our successful partnership history with EDF Renewables, both in Europe and the US. This investment makes an important contribution to Munich Re's net-zero climate commitment under the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance (AOA), which Munich Re joined in 2020."
The projects combined will generate enough clean energy to meet the consumption of 108,500 average California homes1. This is equivalent to avoiding more than 527,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually2
EDF Renewables, one of the largest renewable energy developers in North America, is committing to providing solutions to meet California's carbon-reduction goals. With 35 years of experience and 24 gigawatts of wind, solar, and storage projects developed, EDF Renewables provides integrated energy solutions from grid-scale power to electric vehicle charging.
MEAG, acting on behalf of Munich Re, has invested in close to five gigawatts of wind, solar and battery storage assets in Europe and the US. MEAG plans to substantially increase its investments into the North American renewable energy space over the next years by leveraging both Munich Re's in-house engineering expertise and MEAG's local presence in the US.
1 | According to U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2020 Residential Electricity Sales and U.S. Census Data and typical transmission assumptions. | |
2 | According to U.S. EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies calculations and typical transmission assumptions. |
EDF Renewables North America is a market leading independent power producer and service provider with 35 years of expertise in renewable energy. The Company delivers grid-scale power: wind (onshore and offshore), solar photovoltaic, and storage projects; distributed solutions: solar and storage; and asset optimization: technical, operational, and commercial expertise to maximize performance of generating projects. The Company's PowerFlex subsidiary offers a full suite of onsite energy solutions for commercial and industrial customers: solar, storage, EV charging, energy management systems, and microgrids. EDF Renewables' North American portfolio consists of 24 GW of developed projects and 13 GW under service contracts. EDF Renewables North America is a subsidiary of EDF Renouvelables, the dedicated renewable energy affiliate of the EDF Group. For more information visit: www.edf-re.com. Connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
About MEAG
MEAG manages the assets of Munich Re and ERGO. It has representations in Europe, Asia and North America and offers its extensive know-how to institutional and private customers. MEAG currently manages assets to the value of around 334 billion, around 67 billion of which in its business with institutional investors and private customers.
MEAG invests in alternative assets in North America on behalf of Munich Re group and other non-US institutional investors. MEAG's most recent infrastructure equity investments in the US comprise investments into renewables development platform Longroad Energy Holdings, various acquisitions via its parking platform Interpark and its water platform SWWC, as well as New York's Astoria Energy Partners and Long Beach Container Terminal.
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Contacts:
EDFR: Sandi Briner, mediarelations@edf-re.com
MEAG: Josef Wild, Spokesperson jwild@meag.com
