EDF Renewables North America (EDFR) and MEAG, acting in its capacity as Munich Re’s global asset manager, today announced the closing on a strategic investment whereby a subsidiary of Munich Re acquired a 50% stake in two renewable energy projects in California totaling 310 megawatts (MWdc) of solar and 50 MW / 200 MWh of battery storage.

EDF Renewables and MEAG/Munich Re announced last year that they had agreed to partner on the Maverick 6 Solar-plus-Storage Project – 131 MWdc solar coupled with a 50 MW/200 MWh battery energy storage system, and the Maverick 7 Solar Project with a capacity of 179 MWdc.  The projects, which utilize horizontal single-axis tracking technology, are located adjacent to one another in Riverside County California on federal lands within a Solar Energy Zone and Development Focus Area, managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

Andres Estrada, Divestiture & Portfolio Strategy Manager for EDF Renewables, commented, “We are excited to reach this critical milestone with MEAG. The renewable energy industry has experienced significant volatility over the past two years. While a predictable policy environment and reliable supply chain are key to the industry’s growth, so is the steady, long-term approach to investing in the growth of the low-carbon economy from institutional partners like MEAG.”

Dr. Alexander Poll, MEAG’s Market Lead for U.S. Infrastructure Investments said, “Maverick 6&7 are another significant step to further increase the North American renewables portfolio for Munich Re, after MEAG’s most recent investments in the area. Given Munich Re’s strong position in the U.S. insurance market, we are fully committed to additional growth in the renewables space in the United States.”

Martin Kaufmann, Senior Vice President MEAG U.S. Infrastructure Investments added, “We are very pleased about this transaction and are looking forward to continuing our successful partnership history with EDF Renewables, both in Europe and the US. This investment makes an important contribution to Munich Re’s net-zero climate commitment under the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance (AOA), which Munich Re joined in 2020.”

The projects combined will generate enough clean energy to meet the consumption of 108,500 average California homes1. This is equivalent to avoiding more than 527,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually2.

EDF Renewables, one of the largest renewable energy developers in North America, is committing to providing solutions to meet California’s carbon-reduction goals.  With 35 years of experience and 24 gigawatts of wind, solar, and storage projects developed, EDF Renewables provides integrated energy solutions from grid-scale power to electric vehicle charging.

MEAG, acting on behalf of Munich Re, has invested in close to five gigawatts of wind, solar and battery storage assets in Europe and the US.  MEAG plans to substantially increase its investments into the North American renewable energy space over the next years by leveraging both Munich Re’s in-house engineering expertise and MEAG’s local presence in the US.