D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments said that the San Juan 1 Project achieved financial close with its project lenders and started construction. San Juan 1 is a 200 MWac solar and 100 MWac battery storage facility adjacent to the former San Juan Generating Station in San Juan County, New Mexico, adjacent to the state’s Four Corners region.

The project is a capacity replacement to the San Juan Generating Station, which was retired in 2022, and will interconnect to the grid using existing infrastructure from the retired plant. San Juan 1 is the first phase of a larger project that is expected to deliver 400 MWac of generating capacity when fully developed and constructed.

San Juan 1 is D.E. Shaw’s third project in New Mexico. The project has a 20-year power purchase agreement with Public Service Company of New Mexico and help the utility’s efforts to have all electricity generation be emissions free by 2040. The facility expected to start commercial operations in mid-2024. Photosol USA initially developed the project before selling it to D.E. Shaw in 2022.

Construction financing was provided by lenders including Société Générale as lead arranger, Zions Capital Markets, Huntington National Bank, Commerzbank AG, and SuMi Trust.

SOLV Energy will serve as the engineering, procurement, and construction contractor for the solar and battery storage components, and EPC Services Co. will construct the generation tie-line and project substation. Additionally, SOLV Energy will provide ongoing operations and maintenance services to the facility once operational.