8minutenergy Begins Raising Capital For 500 MW US Solar Push

8minutenergy, the leading independent solar PV developer in the US, has announced that it is now raising capital to fuel the growth of its 5.5 GW US solar pipeline, including over 500 MW of wholly-owned near-shovel-ready projects with long term PPAs.

We last heard from 8minutenergy at the beginning of the month, when it announced that it was expanding its operations into Texas, and aiming to drive the development of 2 GW of utility-scale solar PV. With an existing 5.5 GW of solar projects currently in development across North America, the California-based developer has already been awarded a further 1.5 GW of power purchase agreements (PPAs) — all on top of the 700 MW it already has in operation.

Following on from this expansion, 8minutenergy announced on Wednesday that it was beginning the process of raising capital to continue growing its pipeline, which includes over 500 MW of wholly-owned near-shovel-ready projects with long term PPAs. The near-term projects are said to have an enterprise value of in excess of $1 billion.

“8minutenergy has greenfield-developed one of the solar industry’s largest project pipelines, and has a unique position in the market,” said Martin Hermann, 8minutenergy’s CEO and founder.

“Since 2009, we have built a highly successful solar development platform, having secured over 1.5 GWs of long-term PPAs across 14 projects, representing $5.5 billion in contracted revenues. As the U.S. solar market continues to grow, driven by the increasing price competitiveness of utility-scale solar, the ITC extension, and various decarbonization policies, we are well positioned to capitalize on our growing pipeline delivering gigawatts of clean energy into the grid.”

“With over 700 MWs of developed projects in operation, 8minutenergy’s projects have secured in excess of $1 billion in third party investment, generating significant benefits for project stakeholders,” said Tom Buttgenbach, President of 8minutenergy. “Our strategy continues to focus on large utility-scale greenfield development, deploying best-in-class solar solutions providing our customers with the greatest value for their energy needs. As we continue to expand and build upon our proven, levelized cost of energy-centric platform, we are looking for efficient investment capital to fund a variety of interesting development and long term ownership opportunities in the U.S.”