Nevada Solar One gets $266M in financing

BOULDER CITY, Nev., July 30 (UPI) -- Acciona Energy has closed on a multimillion dollar, long-term project financing for Nevada Solar One.

The $266 million project financing is for Nevada Solar Ones' 64 megawatt Concentrated Solar Power plant. Company officials say the deal represents the first leveraged lease structured financing for a CSP plant in the United States.

Acciona Energy is one of the world's leading providers of renewable energy solutions.

The leveraged lease structure was financed by Spain-based Banco Santander and BBVA, and Portugal-based CAIXA Geral de Depositos and equity investors JPMorgan Capital Corp., Northern Trust and Wells Fargo.

"We are very pleased to have completed the financing of our first CSP project in the U.S. with this new financing structure to the renewables sector," Susan Nickey, chief financing officer at Acciona Energy North America, said in a statement. "This transaction particularly emphasizes the impact that favorable clean energy policies can have on accelerating the adoption of renewable energy technologies."

As the demand for power increases in the U.S. Southwest by three times the normal demand during peak times, company officials say solar thermal provides a utility-scale solution with no CO2 emissions. Solar thermal closely tracks the power use, providing peak power when the demand for air conditioning is at its greatest.

All of the plant's electricity production is expected to be sold to Nevada Power Co. and Sierra Pacific Power Co.