Estuary Power has announced the commencement of operations of its Escape Solar and Storage project in Lincoln County, Nevada.
Escape is a 185 megawatt (“MW”) solar photovoltaic and 400 megawatt-hour (“MWh”) battery energy storage project, developed, constructed, and owned by Estuary. Escape’s first phase, totaling 70 MW of solar capacity, began supplying power to Overton Power District No. 5, Caesars Entertainment, and Wynn Las Vegas under long-term power purchase agreements in June, ahead of the scheduled start date. Escape’s second phase, consisting of 115 MW of solar and 400 MWh of battery capacity, will begin supplying MGM Resorts International later this year.
Jill Daniel, CEO of Estuary Power, said, “Estuary is honored to serve key Nevada customers who value the renewable, economical, and reliable nature of solar energy. We are proud that Escape has been constructed in Nevada, by Nevada workers, to supply Nevada customers, contributing to our state’s economic development and energy independence. Escape has created nearly 500 well-paying union construction jobs for members of union locals whose pension funds are invested in Estuary. I am incredibly proud of the Estuary team for delivering the first phase of Escape in just under two years from identification of the site to start of operations, and I thank all of our partners for making this possible.”
Melissa Garcia, Chief Executive Officer of Overton Power District No. 5, said, “Overton Power District No. 5 is pleased to add Escape to our energy supply portfolio at a much lower cost than other market-based sources. This long-term contract, along with our heritage hydropower allotments, adds rate stability and boosts the renewable portion of our portfolio. Taken together, these factors bring important benefits to our customers.”
Eric Dominguez, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Asset Management of Caesars Entertainment, said, “Caesars Entertainment is committed to pursuing renewable energy sources to ensure a greener future. Over the last several years, Caesars has implemented multiple solar projects across the Empire. Our long-term contract with Escape is another step toward achieving our carbon reduction goals and reducing our environmental footprint while still creating extraordinary experiences for our guests.”
Estuary also recently secured additional financing related to the Escape project. This included closing the initial funding pursuant to a tax equity investment commitment by Morgan Stanley Renewables Inc., as well as securing an upsizing of Escape’s term loan provided by Denham Capital on behalf of its clients.
Jorge Iragorri, Managing Director and Head of Renewable Energy Investments at Morgan Stanley, said, “Morgan Stanley is pleased to partner with Estuary Power through our investment in the Escape project. We look forward to supporting Estuary’s growth as we continue to advance toward a lower carbon future.”
Alberto Garcia, Managing Director, Denham Sustainable Infrastructure Credit, said, “Denham is thrilled to continue our support of Estuary Power and the Escape project by increasing the size of the debt facilities. Our construction and long-term debt solution for Escape showcases how our institutional clients can support the development of renewable energy in the US market.”
Estuary Power, based in Reno, Nevada, develops, owns, and operates large-scale energy generation and storage projects in the western United States. Estuary is a majority woman-owned business with financial backing from Ullico Infrastructure Fund (“UIF”), a $6.3 billion infrastructure fund. UIF’s investors are primarily union pension funds, including several Nevada unions whose members are employed at Escape—International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 357, Operating Engineers Local 12, and Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 872.
Escape’s solar arrays are being constructed by Bechtel Infrastructure and Power Corporation. Its substation and certain transmission upgrades were completed by Dashiell Corporation. Tesla, Inc. is supplying and installing the battery energy storage system, and JinkoSolar is supplying TOPCon photovoltaic modules.
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