United States-based renewable energy company Arevon has acquired the Vikings Energy Farm, a solar-plus-storage power project under development from RAI Energy International and Apex Energy Solutions. The Vikings Energy farm is a solar peaker with a 1:1 configuration of 150 MW of solar coupled with 150 MW/600 MWh of battery energy storage. This allows the project to shift daytime solar production to late afternoon and evening hours, providing on-peak energy whenever necessary.
The Vikings Energy Farm is the first project Arevon has acquired since its August 2021 division from Capital Dynamics. Arevon plans to expand its solar and battery storage projects through customer acquisition, mergers, and select development activities. Averon purchased the plant from RAI Energy International and Apex Energy Solutions.
“Arevon is at the forefront of powering the energy transition through solar and storage resources. The acquisition of the Vikings Energy Farm relied on all of Arevon’s tools – our understanding of the market, our financial capability, and our ability to deliver innovative energy solutions,” said John Breckenridge, CEO, Arevon. “This multi-faceted expertise shows the advantage a vertically-integrated renewable company like Arevon brings to the market.”
The Vikings Energy Farm is contracted to provide resource adequacy and renewable energy to San Diego Community Power in 2023. Arevon will maintain critical commitments made by the original developers, creating a program to benefit students in California’s Holtville Unified School District and using union labor to construct the facility.
“Vikings Energy Farm is emblematic of the type of solar plus storage projects that are needed to meet our state’s ambitious climate goals,” said Mohammed S. Alrai, CEO, RAI Energy. “This acquisition is a key validation of our strategy to originate projects that are uniquely designed for the California market. We are thrilled to partner with Arevon to bring the project online and fulfill our commitments to the local community.”
Earlier this month, Arevon secured a 2 GW 6 GWh supply of Tesla Megapack to support its growing utility-scale storage portfolio through a master supply agreement. Tesla Megapack has been selected to support the Falcon portfolio, a joint undertaking of Arevon and energy company Tenaska to develop standalone storage projects in California load centers over the next four years.
According to Wood Mackenzie, the United States installed 345 MW of new energy storage systems in the second quarter of 2021 – a year-over-year increase of 162% compared to the same period last year.
Mercom Capital Group’s 1H and Q2 2021 Funding and M&A Report for Storage, Grid & Efficiency reveals that in 1H 2021, there were a total of nine (two disclosed) battery storage M&A transactions compared to eight (all undisclosed) in 1H 2020.
