Providing due diligence for the acquisition of solar power plants

An I Squared Capital portfolio company, Grupo T-Solar’s core business is the financing, construction, management and operation of solar power plants. Grupo T-Solar now has a global portfolio with 386 MW of operating capacity. Its portfolio generates more than 634 GW of power each year, saving 155,370 tons in CO2 emissions.

In 2017, T-Solar acquired two operating Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants in Spain with a combined installed capacity of 100 MW: the Moron plant in Seville and the Olivenza plant in Badajoz. Since beginning their operations in 2012, the two plants have delivered more than 200 GW per year to the grid, meeting the annual needs of around 160,000 people.

As part of the acquisition, T-Solar commissioned Enzen to undertake a thorough technical assessment of the two solar plants, validating their operating risks and potential for improvement. In comparison to Solar PV installations, CSP plants are complex installations using sophisticated technology and require proper technical expertise and experience to evaluate their performance. Enzen’s technical advisory team delivered an exhaustive technical due diligence exercise that included the:

• Projection of the assets' useful life and maintenance status
• Projection of yearly production forecasts
• Review of operations and maintenance contracts
• Potential improvements to the long-term service agreements in place
• Assessment of asset health.

Enzen’s expert advice assisted the investor in making an informed bid for the transaction. We identified several improvement opportunities in asset operation, plus key risks to the transaction and made recommendations on how to mitigate them.