Hannon Armstrong and ENGIE to Jointly Invest in 2.3 GW Portfolio of U.S. Wind and Solar Projects

Photo Credit: ENGIE

July 02, 2020 02:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Photo Credit: ENGIE

ANNAPOLIS, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Inc. (“Hannon Armstrong”) (NYSE: HASI), a leading investor in climate change solutions, today announced a newly-formed partnership with a subsidiary of ENGIE S.A., the largest independent power producer (IPP) and energy efficiency services provider in the world, that will own a 2.3 gigawatt (GW) portfolio of wind and utility-scale solar assets.

The partnership combines Hannon Armstrong’s extensive experience in providing long-term investment for climate solutions with the best-in-class development and operations experience of ENGIE, a global energy and services leader dedicated to accelerating the deployment of clean, affordable, innovative and resilient energy solutions.

On commissioning, the 2.3 GW portfolio will be comprised of 1.8 GW of onshore wind and 0.5 GW of utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) projects (13 projects in total) located in five states. Hannon Armstrong will participate in the cash flows from the operations of this diversified portfolio of renewable energy projects, while ENGIE will retain a controlling share in the portfolio and continue to manage the assets.

“We have a common mission to accelerate the rapid adoption of climate change solutions, and we are pleased to partner with ENGIE once again with this new investment that adds significant scale and diversity to our portfolio,” said Hannon Armstrong Chairman and CEO Jeffrey W. Eckel. “Continuing to build a programmatic investment platform allows both firms to make the investment process more aerodynamic and cost-effective for ENGIE’s ultimate customers,” added Eckel.

“The U.S. is a key growth market for our renewables business, where we are accelerating fast, from 0 MW in 2018 to 2 GW that should be commissioned in 2020. We have a strong pipeline of opportunities and a solid development and operational platform to grow from. We are delighted to have partnered with Hannon Armstrong, a company solely dedicated to investments in climate change solutions,” said Gwenaelle Avice-Huet, Executive Vice-President responsible for ENGIE Renewables business line and CEO of ENGIE North America.

Highlights

  • The portfolio includes nine onshore wind and four utility-scale solar projects located in five states, representing 2.3 GW of gross generating capacity in aggregate. Under the agreement, Hannon Armstrong will take immediate ownership of 49% of 663 megawatts (MW) from four operating onshore wind projects. The remaining 1.6 GW of projects (five onshore wind and four utility-scale solar PV projects) currently under construction will be transferred into the partnership upon commissioning.
  • Assets are located in geographically diversified wind and solar resource regions and wholesale power markets, including Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), PJM Interconnection (PJM), and Southwest Power Pool (SPP).
  • With a weighted average contract life of 13 years, the portfolio’s cash flows are contracted with highly creditworthy off-takers who enjoy a weighted average credit rating of A+, including Amazon, Allianz, Ingersoll Rand, Microsoft,T Mobile, Target, Walmart, and Xcel Energy.
  • Once fully funded, this portfolio is expected to significantly increase and diversify Hannon Armstrong’s balance sheet portfolio and support continued growth in recurring Net Investment Income.
  • With a CarbonCount® score of 2.01 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) reduced annually per $1,000 invested, Hannon Armstrong’s equity investment will avoid an estimated 1.1 million metric tons of CO2e in the first year of operations, equivalent to the CO2e emissions from 125,000 U.S. homes’ annual energy use.

About Hannon Armstrong

Hannon Armstrong (NYSE: HASI) is the first U.S. public company solely dedicated to investments in climate change solutions, providing capital to leading companies in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and other sustainable infrastructure markets. With more than $6 billion in managed assets as of March 31, 2020, Hannon Armstrong’s core purpose is to make climate-positive investments with superior risk-adjusted returns. For more information, please visit www.hannonarmstrong.com. Follow Hannon Armstrong onLinkedIn and Twitter @HannonArmstrong.

About ENGIE North America

ENGIE North America Inc. offers a range of capabilities in the United States and Canada to help customers decarbonize, decentralize and digitalize their operations. These include comprehensive services to help customers run their facilities more efficiently and optimize energy and other resource use and expense; clean power generation; energy storage; and retail energy supply that includes renewable, demand response, and on-bill financing options. Nearly 100% of the company’s power generation portfolio is low carbon or renewable. Globally, ENGIE S.A. relies on their key businesses (gas, renewable energy, services) to offer competitive solutions to customers. With 170,000 employees, customers, partners and stakeholders, we are a community of Imaginative Builders, committed every day to more harmonious progress. For more information on ENGIE North America, please visit our LinkedIn page or Twitter feed, www.engie-na.com and www.engie.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Some of the information in this press release contains forward-looking statements and within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. When used in this press release, words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “plan,” “continue,” “intend,” “should,” “may,” “target,” or similar expressions, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Investors are cautioned against placing undue reliance on such statements. Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements include those discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for our fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, which was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), as well as in other reports that we file with the SEC.

Forward-looking statements are based on beliefs, assumptions and expectations as of the date of this press release. We disclaim any obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements reflecting new estimates, events or circumstances after the date of this press release.

Contacts

Hannon Armstrong
Gil Jenkins
[email protected]
443-321-5753

Chad Reed
[email protected]
410-571-6189

ENGIE North America
Sandrine Deparis
[email protected]
202-855-3705