Brookfield Renewable said it is buying Standard Solar and Scout Clean Energy for a combined $1.5 billion with the potential to invest another $500 million to grow both companies.
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Brookfield agreed to buy Colorado-based Scout Clean Energy for $1 billion from Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners. It said it could invest another $350 million to support the company's growth. Quinbrook acquired Scout as a start-up in 2017 for $6 million.
Scout’s portfolio includes more than 1,200 MW of operating wind assets, including 400 MW managed on behalf of third parties. It also has a pipeline of over 22,000 MW of wind, solar, and storage projects across 24 states, including almost 2,500 MW of under construction and advanced-stage projects.
In a separate transaction, Brookfield said it closed its acquisition of Maryland-based Standard Solar $540 million with the potential to invest another $160 million for its growth opportunities.
Standard Solar develops, owns and operates commercial and community distributed solar. It has roughly 500 MW of operating and under- construction contracted assets and a development pipeline of almost 2,000 MW.
Both Scout and Standard Solar will continue to operate as independent businesses within the Brookfield Renewable U.S. platform.
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Brookfield Renewable CEO Connor Teskey said the investments were underwritten without the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act factored in, meaning the legislation could provide significant boosts to both companies.
"Combined with our existing fleet we are well positioned for continued growth as owners and operators of one of the largest diversified clean power businesses in the country," Teskey said.
The Scout and Standard Solar acquisitions are the latest in a series of clean energy investments by Brookfield Renewable in North America during 2022, including:
- Urban Grid: $650 million acquisition of a solar and battery storage developer with a development pipeline of 20,000 MW of utility-scale solar and energy storage projects in the Umid-Atlantic, Midwest and Southeast.
- Carbon Capture and Sequestration: Exclusive right to invest up to $750 million on a project-by-project basis into Entropy Inc. and a joint venture with California Resource Corp., two carbon capture and sequestration platforms in Alberta and California, respectively.
All totaled, the Brookfield Global Transition Fund has invested or allocated $3.5 billion for clean energy investments and follow-on capital in North America in 2022.
