(Bloomberg) —
KKR and another private equity firm will invest at least $1 billion into a US solar developer and the company’s projects.
KKR will become the majority owner of solar and storage developer Avantus, the companies said Wednesday. KKR and existing Avantus investor EIG will be the sole equity investors and will help finance projects for the developer. Terms of the deal and size of KKR’s stake weren’t disclosed. The deal includes equity and debt financing, including from third parties.
The deal signals mounting investor interest in US solar in the aftermath of President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which includes generous tax credits.
California-based Avantus owns a project development pipeline of 30 gigawatts of solar and 94 gigawatt-hours of battery storage, which can provide power to 20 million people, KKR said. The company, which was called 8minute Solar Energy until 2022, has developed and sold 6.5 gigawatts solar and 6.3 gigawatt-hours of solar and storage projects.
While interest rates have made it difficult for some solar developers to finance their projects, research firm BloombergNEF expects US solar installations to grow by more than 40% from 41 gigawatts to nearly 60 gigwatts by 2030.
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