U.S. solar developer 8minutenergy in $200 million joint venture

[December 11, 2018]  (Reuters) - U.S. solar developer 8minutenergy Renewables LLC on Tuesday said it had raised more than $200 million for its pipeline of utility-scale solar projects through a joint venture with J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Upper Bay Infrastructure Partners.

The announcement comes three days after the company announced a buyout of co-founder and former chief executive Martin Hermann by his co-founder Tom Buttgenbach, who is now the company's CEO.

8minutenergy will use the more than $200 million in capital to develop projects throughout the United States over the next five years, including in California, Texas and the U.S. Southeast, Buttgenbach said in an interview.

The company has more than 10 gigawatts of projects under development, with 2 GW under contract.

As part of the company's shift in strategy under Buttgenbach, he said it is abandoning its overseas operations and focusing exclusively on the U.S. market.

Buttgenbach is also personally investing in the joint venture, the company said.

8minutenergy develops vast solar projects for utilities, such as the Mount Signal solar farms in California near the U.S.-Mexico border.

(Reporting by Nichola Groom, editing by G Crosse)

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