Dominion Resources, Inc. (D) announced on Dec 29, 2014 that it has completed the acquisition of the CID solar facility located in King’s County, CA. Dominion acquired the solar project from EDF Renewable Energy, a leading U.S. power producer, which specializes in the wind and solar photovoltaic space with an added focus on biogas, biomass, hydro and other marine energy and storage solutions.
The acquisition had been announced as early as Jun 2014. All the conditions of the acquisition were fulfilled by Dec 11 and the solar facility commenced operations on Dec 22.
Dominion has shifted its focus on expanding its renewable portfolio in the wake of the clean energy initiative that is being carried out across the globe, and the resulting stringency of environmental regulations as implemented by the U.S. government.
In Nov 2014, Dominion acquired the 50-megawatt (“MW”) Pavant Solar project, situated in Millard County, UT from juwi solar (“JSI”), a renewable energy provider based in Boulder, CO. Previously, in Sep 2014, Dominion had inked a contract to acquire two solar energy projects – the 24-MW Cottonwood and the 18-MW Catalina Solar 2 – from EDF Renewable Energy. Both these projects are located in California.
These renewable ventures will diversify Dominion’s generation mix and enable it to comply with the environmental regulations, simultaneously serving its customers efficiently. This deal will further increase Dominion’s solar energy footprint in California. California remains a lucrative choice for majority of the solar companies because of its friendly solar policies as well as its sunny climate.
In Jul 2014, California declared the extension of the solar property tax exclusion till Jan 1, 2025, thereby encouraging more solar installations in the state. Moreover, with about 8,544 MW of solar energy already installed, the state’s solar market is expected to grow by leaps and bounds in the near future. In 2013 alone, California had witnessed solar installation investments worth about $7.1 billion. Given the plethora of opportunities ahead, solar investments are expected to grow substantially, going forward.
Dominion currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked stocks in the sector include Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. (HE), Consolidated Edison, Inc. (ED) and PG&E Corporation (PCG), each sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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