The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Jan. 9 approved a Dec. 2, 2016, application from 96WI 8ME LLC for the sale of 100% of the membership interests in the applicant to Dominion Solar Holdings IV LLC.
The applicant is developing a 30-MW (ac) solar facility, called the Midway Solar Farm II, and related interconnection facilities located in Imperial County, California, which will be interconnected to the transmission system owned and operated by Ihe Imperial Irrigation District. Applicant has filed a notice of self-certification as an exempt wholesale generator and, on Jan. 5, 2017, was granted authorization to make sales of energy, capacity, and ancillary services at market-based rates. The project is due for start-up in the first quarter of this year.
All the electric energy and capacity from the facility will be sold under a long-term power purchase agreement to the Imperial Irrigation District with a term of more than one year.
The applicant is wholly owned by Solar Frontier Americas Holding LLC, which is wholly owned by Solar Frontier Americas Inc. Solar Frontier Americas Inc. develops and builds solar energy projects in the U.S. Solar Frontier Americas Inc. is wholly owned by Solar Frontier K.K, which is wholly owned by Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. The shares of Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. are owned 15% by Saudi Aramco, 35% by Royal Dutch Shell, and the remaining 50% are publicly traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
The purchaser in this deal is 99% owned by Dominion Solar Projects C Inc. and 1% by Dominion Solar Projects D Inc., both of which are direct, wholly owned subsidiaries of Dominion Energy Inc., which is part of Dominion Resources (NYSE: D). Dominion Resources is the parent company of Dominion Virginia Power, a regulated, vertically integrated public utility engaged in the generation, distribution, and sale of electric energy.
Under a purchase and sale agreement, Solar Frontier Americas Holdings will sell to the purchaser 100% of the membership interests in the applicant solar project company.
