The renewable energy company is buying three projects in the US with a capacity of 1.3 gigawatts of solar and 4.1 gigawatts of storage. The construction cost will be 2.6 billion dollars and the revenues will be 200 million dollars a year
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Expanding in the USA. The renewable energy company Enlight, which is managed by Gilad Yabetz, is deepening its operations in the USA through the purchase of three projects. The company reported yesterday that it had signed a binding agreement for the purchase of the projects in question. The total capacity of the projects is 1.3 gigawatts of solar and 4.1 gigawatts of storage. The purchase is made through the American subsidiary Clinera (90%).
The scope of the transaction is up to 103 million dollars. Enlight will pay 51 million dollars for the projects as an initial payment, and the remaining amount, 52 million dollars, will be paid according to the success of the projects in the future. The construction cost of the projects will amount to 2.6 billion dollars, with the equity invested in the construction amounting to 15-20%, as is customary in projects of this type. Enlight believes that, similar to similar projects in the US, it will be able to add a tax partner to the projects in question. In Enlight’s estimation, upon completion of the construction of the projects and their connection to electricity, they will generate revenues of approximately 200 million dollars per year.
Two of the three projects—Snowflake Solar and Phase 2 of the Well Line—are located in the state of Arizona, and their total capacity is similar (620 megawatt solar and 625 megawatt solar respectively). In each of these two projects, storage facilities with a capacity of 2 gigawatts will be built. The third project, Upland dilon argenta, has a 100 megawatt solar power and no storage power. Enlight expects revenues of 113 million dollars a year from the Snowflake project, 87 million dollars a year from the Ko Beer project and 10 million dollars a year from the Upland project.
Upon completion of the transaction, the total capacity of Enlight’s storage projects in the US, at their various stages of construction, will increase by 50% and will amount to 12.2 GW, and the capacity of its solar projects will amount to 13.5 GW, an increase of about 10%. From this point of view, it is a strengthening of the dominant position of the USA in Enlight’s portfolio, since the company’s total storage capacity, after the transaction is completed, will be 19.4 gigawatts, and its solar capacity will be 18.6 G Gigawatt.
The memorandum of understanding regarding the deal was signed last July, and the price has risen since then. In July, the company reported that the expectation is for an initial payment of 21 million dollars, with the scope of potential payments reaching 46 million dollars. What led to the sharp increase in the transaction price is the Inflation Reduction Act that passed in August in the US (Inflation Reduction Act). The law, which includes many layers, grants, among other things, extensive tax benefits to renewable energy projects. Among other things, it is about giving benefits to companies that will Local partner in the USA. This is, among other things, the reason that Enlight believes that it will not be difficult to add a tax partner.
Clinera, the subsidiary company through which it makes the purchases of the projects in question, was bought by Enlight in 2021 for $390 million.
Enlight’s shares ended 2022 with an increase of about 14%, contrary to the prevailing trend in the market (TA-125, for example, fell by about 11%), and the company’s market value is NIS 7.2 billion. Enlight is currently traded without a controlling interest and at the head of the board of directors It is headed by Yair Sarosi, who was previously the chairman of Bank Hapoalim, and currently also serves as the chairman of Zim.