M&T Bank’s Commercial Equipment Finance Group provided tax equity financing to support Duke Energy Renewables’ acquisition of the 150-megawatt North Rosamond solar project in Kern County, CA from Clearway Energy Group.

The U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation, the tax credit division of U.S. Bank, and Guardian Life Insurance Company of America also provided financing to the project.

The North Rosamond solar project is Duke Energy Renewables’ sixth solar generation facility in Kern County.

“North Rosamond is a great addition to our growing solar portfolio,” said Rob Caldwell, president of Duke Energy Renewables. “California is a leader in renewable energy, and we’re pleased to support their efforts by continuing to provide the state with cost-efficient renewable energy to meet residents’ needs.”

The 150-MW project, which contains over 477,000 solar panels, is located on approximately 1,188 acres outside of Rosamond, CA. Construction is nearly complete and the project is expected to achieve commercial operation in early May. The North Rosamond project will be the largest solar project in Duke Energy Renewables’ fleet. It will power approximately 71,000 homes.

The energy generated from the North Rosamond solar project will be sold to Southern California Edison under a 15-year agreement.

The project employed as many as 500 individuals during the peak construction period.

The facility’s design, procurement of PV modules, inverters, balance of plant systems and construction of the project is being performed by First Solar Electric California’s engineering, procurement and construction subsidiary under a fixed-price EPC agreement for the project.

Duke Energy Renewables operates wind and solar generation facilities across the U.S., with a total electric capacity of 3,000 megawatts. The power is sold to electric utilities, electric cooperatives, municipalities, and commercial and industrial customers.

With $29 billion in managed assets as of Dec. 31, 2018, U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation provides innovative financing solutions for community development projects across the country using state and federally sponsored tax credit programs.

Headquartered in Buffalo, NY, M&T Bank operates banking offices in New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.