The project financing includes a tax equity commitment from Morgan Stanley Renewables, a tax equity bridge loan provided by First Citizens Bank & Trust Company, Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (Nord/LB) and National Bank of Canada, as well as a long-term construction-to-term facility provided by Denham Capital on behalf of its clients.
Construction of the project is currently underway, and Estuary expects it to be operational sometime in 2025. Tesla is providing the BESS unit for the site, and Chinese solar module manufacturer JinkoSolar will supply TOPCon solar PV modules.
Bechtel Infrastructure and Power Corporation is constructing the solar array, and Dashiell Corporation is behind the erection of the substation and transmission upgrades.
Once operational, the Escape solar-plus-storage site will supply four Nevada-based customers under long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs). 115MW of solar and 400MWh of battery energy storage will be provided to MGM Resorts International, 25MW to Overton Power District, 25MW to Caesars Entertainment and 20MW to Wynn Las Vegas.
Escape will interconnect to Lincoln County Power District’s Mesa substation and transmit power over its and Overton Power District’s systems.
Jill Daniel, CEO of Estuary Power, highlighted the project’s quality and thanked its partners for making it a reality.
“I am incredibly proud of the Estuary Power team for developing the Escape project with quality and integrity and on an astonishing timeline,” Daniel said.
“We greatly appreciate the trust that our customers have placed in us to meet their sustainability goals. We look forward to supplying renewable energy to the iconic Las Vegas Strip and to our valued partner Overton Power District.”
Solar-plus-storage in Nevada
Several solar-plus-storage projects are being developed in the US state of Nevada. In July 2024, PV Tech reported that investment fund Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners and its subsidiary Primergy Solar reached commercial operations at their 690MWac/966MWdc Gemini solar-plus-storage project in Clark County. Featuring a 1,400MWh BESS, it has been claimed by Primergy as the largest operational single phase co-located solar and battery project in the US to date.
The project was approved by the US Department of Interior in 2020 and secured nearly US$2 billion in financing in 2022 for its construction. A 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) has already been secured with Nevada public utility NV Energy.
Earlier this year, Primergy Solar secured a PPA for another of its solar-plus-storage projects in Nevada. The deal will see California community energy supplier San Diego Community Power acquire power generated by Primergy’s 400MWac Purple Sage Energy Center, a project currently under development. The project also consists of a 1.6GWh BESS and is expected to be commissioned in 2027.
