rPlus Energies secures up to $460M investment

ecshitv February 23, 2024 1


rPlus Energies secures up to $460M investment

Developed by rPlus Energies, the 104 MW Graphite Solar project is located in Carbon County, Utah. The project is owned by Greenbacker Renewable Energy. (Courtesy: rPlus Energies)

rPlus Energies, a private renewable energy developer, announced a platform-level partnership with Sandbrook Capital, a private investment firm, in which Sandbrook will invest up to $460 million in the platform alongside continued support from Gardner Group, the founding investor in rPlus and a leading commercial real estate company in the Mountain West.

rPlus currently has a 15-GW pipeline of solar, wind, battery, and pumped storage hydropower projects, it said, and Sandbrook’s initial commitment enables the company to bring 1 GW of shovel-ready generation and storage online in the near-term while advancing the balance of the pipeline through commercialization.

Episode 59 of the Factor This! podcast features Luigi Resta, a clean energy industry veteran and president of rPlus Energies, a developer of utility-scale solar, wind, battery storage, and pumped hydro projects. Resta breaks down the impact of FERC’s interconnection reform plan and shares his vision for the policy battle still ahead. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

“From the outset, it was evident that we share an execution-oriented and community-minded approach to business and project development,” said Luigi Resta, rPlus President and CEO. “The expertise, commitment, and drive of the Sandbrook team, coupled with the Gardner Group’s continued leadership, will play a pivotal role in steering substantial growth as rPlus makes a strategic transition to own-and-operate for the long-term.”

Over the last five years, rPlus has developed over 630 MW of solar and wind projects that are now in service or under construction, including Graphite Solar and Appaloosa Solar, two operational Utah-based solar PV facilities. rPlus is also currently managing construction on rPlus-developed Pleasant Valley Solar, the largest solar PV facility in the Idaho Power system, while a 152-MW wind project rPlus sold to Clearway Energy Group is also nearing completion. rPlus’ Green River Energy Center expects to begin construction in Q2 2024.

rPlus also has two pumped storage hydropower projects in the final licensing stage, with eight other pumped storage hydropower projects in earlier stages of development.