OREANDA-NEWS. NRG Yield has agreed to purchase a 25pc stake in the 550MW Desert Sunlight solar farm in southern California from GE Energy Financial Services,

The deal between NRG's yieldco subsidiary and GE Energy Financial Services involves a 137.5MW share of the project, located on public lands in Riverside, California. NRG Yield is buying the stake for \$285mn while assuming \$287.4mn in project debt. The deal is expected to be final by 30 June, NRG said.

The Desert Sunlight facility, which started full commercial operations in February, would be owned jointly by NRG Yield, NextEra Energy and Sumitomo Partners, which own a 275MW and 135.7MW stake, respectively. The facility is operated by First Solar and is the largest operational solar farm in North America. The project has purchase agreements (PPAs) with Southern California Edison for 250MW of generation over 20-years and Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) for 300MW over 25 years.

"The acquisition of an interest in the largest operating solar farm in North America highlights not only our continued commitment to carbon-free generation, but also the strength of our acquisition capabilities to compete for contracted assets," NRG chief executive David Crane said.

Yieldcos are a corporate structure that has become increasingly popular for renewable energy development because of tax benefits and the ability to give shareholders a steady stream of dividends. Most of NRG's recent acquisitions have come through units of parent company NRG Energy. The Desert Sunlight deal represents NRG Yield's first major acquisition of utility-scale solar this year.

NRG Yield said the deal will boost its solar holdings to about 600MW, and its overall generation portfolio to 3,890MW.