South Korea’s power utility firm Korea Electric Power Corp. has bought interests in three solar photovoltaic projects in southern California from Recurrent Energy in KEPCO’s largest investment in the U.S. solar market, according to Canadian Solar Inc. (Image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, April 2 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s power utility firm Korea Electric Power Corp. has bought interests in three solar photovoltaic projects in southern California from Recurrent Energy in KEPCO’s largest investment in the U.S. solar market, according to Canadian Solar Inc.
KEPCO acquired its interests in the Astoria, Astoria 2, and Barren Ridge projects located in southern California from U.S.-based Recurrent Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian Solar and Canadian Solar’s U.S. project development arm.
The South Korean utility firm has partnered with the Corporate Partnership Fund, a South Korean private equity fund, to make the acquisition, Canadian Solar said, without elaborating on the acquisition price.
“These high-quality solar assets are a strategic addition to our renewable energy holdings and will allow us to further diversify our generation portfolio,” Ha Bong-soo, executive vice president and chief global business officer at KEPCO said in comments posted on the website of Canadian Solar.
“We expect further cooperation with Canadian Solar and are also pleased to be working with an industry-leading developer like Recurrent Energy as we grow our presence in the attractive U.S. solar market.”
Recurrent Energy developed the three projects, all of which reached commercial operation in 2016 and have long-term power purchase agreements, according to Canadian Solar.
Shawn Qu, chairman and chief executive officer of Canadian Solar, said that “traditional investors increasingly view utility-scale solar as a strategic investment, and this transaction with a global energy leader highlights that trend.”
Repeated calls to KEPCO for comment went unanswered on Friday evening.
(Yonhap)
