Avantus

Avantus

Industry	PV power plants manufacturer
Founded	2009; 16 years ago (2009)
Founder	Tom Buttgenbach Martin Hermann
Headquarters	United States
Owner	KKR (2024–present)
Website	avantus.com

Avantus, formerly known as 8minute Solar Energy, is an American photovoltaic (PV) developer of utility-scale PV power plants and energy storage. Founded in 2009 by Tom Buttgenbach and Martin Hermann,[1] it was acquired by KKR fifteen years later.[2]

History

In 2014, Kern County Board of Supervisors approved development of Redwood Solar Farm which received investment of $30 million by Macquarie Capital.[3][4][5] In 2018, it had raised $200 million through a joint venture with J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Upper Bay Infrastructure Partners for its pipeline of utility-scale solar projects.[6][7]

A 25 year pact was signed with Los Angeles Department of Water and Power in 2019.[8]

In July 2019, the company sold its Holstein solar project to Duke Energy.[9][10] The Holstein project was the company's first completed development in Texas, with approximately 709,000 solar panels on 1,300 acres in Wingate, Texas.[11]

In early 2020, 8minute Solar Energy received investments from the University of California system, J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Upper Bay Infrastructure Partners to fund development of solar projects.[12] In 2022, the same year that the University of California filed a lawsuit against the firm,[13] 8minute Solar Energy announced they had secured $400 million in financing from institutional investor EIG.[14][15]

In March 2024, two years after being rebranded as Avantus,[16][17] [18] it was announced a majority stake in the company had been acquired by the US private equity company KKR for an undisclosed amount.[19] The acquisition was completed three months later.

Developments

It has developed solar farms that includes Eagle Shadow Mountain Solar Farm which is a 420 MW_p (300 MW_AC) photovoltaic power station north of Las Vegas, Clark County, Nevada.[20][21] Mount Signal Solar which is a 594 MW_p (460 MW_AC) photovoltaic power station west of Calexico, California,[22][23][24] a 137 MW Springbok Solar Farm and the 191 MW Springbok 2 solar project, both located in Kern County, California.[25][26]

See also

• First Solar
• SolarCity
• Solar power in California

References

1. "US company, 8minutenergy, to build 4 GW of solar capacity in India". @businessline. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
2. "KKR completes acquisition of solar specialist Avantus". Private Equity Wire. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
3. Glover, Mark (2014-10-21). "Folsom's 8minutenergy to develop solar projects in Kern County". The Sacramento Bee. ISSN 0890-5738. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
4. "Macquarie Infrastructure Development". www.macquarie.com. Retrieved 2019-02-11.^[permanent dead link‍]
5. Goosens, Ehren (August 5, 2014). "Edison to Buy 457 Megawatts of Solar From 8minutenergy". Bloomberg.
6. "U.S. solar developer 8minutenergy in $200 million joint venture". Reuters. 2018-12-11. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
7. "8minutenergy, J.P. Morgan and Upper Bay Form $200M Joint Venture for Solar Project | Los Angeles Business Journal". labusinessjournal.com. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
8. Roth, Sammy (September 10, 2019). "Los Angeles OKs a deal for record-cheap solar power and battery storage". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
9. Eric Wesoff (August 12, 2020). "The best little utility-scale solar roundup in Texas". PV Magazine. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
10. Misbrener, Kelsey. "Duke Energy acquires its largest solar project yet". Solar power world.
11. Kelsey Misbrene (July 7, 2020). "8minute Solar Energy brings first project online in Texas". Solar Power World. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
12. Kate Finma (April 27, 2020). "UC invests in solar power developer 8minute Solar Energy". The Daily Californian. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
13. Garcia, Luis (31 January 2022). "University of California Sues 8minute Solar, Seeking $1.22 Billion". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 31 January 2022.
14. "8minute energy closes $400 million in financing from EIG". pv magazine USA. 2022-01-19. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
15. "8minute Solar Energy Closes $400 Million in Financing from EIG". businesswire.
16. "8minute Solar Energy expands services and rebrands as Avantus". solar power world.
17. scully, jules. "US developer 8minute Solar Energy rebrands as Avantus". pv.
18. "Avantus Launches Out of 8minute Solar Energy to Redefine the Energy Sector". businesswire.
19. Akella, Surya (2024-03-21). "KKR to acquire majority stake in Avantus". Power Technology. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
20. Kahn, Brian. "Solar Just Hit a Record Low Price In the U.S." Earther. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
21. "NV Energy 2.3-cent solar contract could set new price record". Utility Dive. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
22. Woody, Todd. "U.S. Solar Industry Booming Despite China Trade War". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
23. "Folsom's 8minutenergy gets approval for largest solar farm". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
24. "8minutenergy Renewables breaks ground on first phase of 800MW PV project". PV Tech. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
25. "8minutenergy And D. E. Shaw Start Construction Of 191 MW Springbok 2 Solar Farm - Solar Industry". Solar Industry. 2015-12-15. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
26. "Solar Farm in California Selling Power 58% Below State Average". Bloomberg NEF. Retrieved 2019-02-11.

External links

• Official website