Arizona solar project negotiated by Clark Hill goes live

A 300-megawatt solar energy project negotiated by EENR energy attorneys Sheryl Sweeney and Daniel Herder is now live in Pinal County, Arizona.

Since its inception over a decade ago, Sweeney and now Herder have acted as outside general counsel for Southwest Public Power Agency. The Clark Hill team has supported SPPA from the planning stages of the recent solar PPA project, through finance and construction contracting, to the final steps to see the power purchase project go online. The 300MW project is a joint venture between BrightNight and Cordelio Power and is the largest renewable energy procurement in SPPA’s history. Concurrently with reaching commercial operation, Sweeney and Herder advised on SPPA’s support of BrightNight closing on its tax equity investment with J.P. Morgan and Capital One, N.A.

“This project exemplifies our team’s ability to support our client’s energy projects from planning to fruition,” Sweeney said. “From the bid process in 2020 and finalizing the power purchase agreement in 2022, we have helped the SPPA through numerous legal and technical hurdles related to ensuring this project supports a reliable grid in the southwest.”

SPPA is a joint action agency that manages, through a formal pool, all or most of its members’ power resources and facilitates the supply of additional energy needed to meet their customers’ loads.

According to a press release from Cordelio Power, the project generated $47 million in economic impact in Pinal County during the construction period and created more than 300 jobs. While in operation, the project is expected to generate an additional $134 million in local economic benefits and supply power for over 77,000 homes and businesses.

“As wholesale energy markets expand in the western interconnection, we’re proud of our ability to help SPPA and others navigate shifting complexities during uncertain times for renewable project development,” said Patrick Larkin, business unit leader of Clark Hill’s Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources group. “We’re very pleased to see the Box Canyon project go live and look forward to supporting SPPA during its operation.”