Orrick advised Recurrent Energy in its sale of four photovoltaic (PV) facilities serving the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) to Google and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P (KKR). This is Google’s first investment in the U.S. in utility-scale solar photovoltaic and KKR’s first renewable investment in the U.S.

The four facilities included in the transaction will provide 88 MW of power to SMUD and were the first to be awarded as part of the utility’s feed-in tariff program (FIT) introduced in January 2010. Construction on three of the projects will be complete early in 2012, with the fourth completed later in the year. The projects are expected to generate nearly 160,000,000 kWh in their first year of operation, which is roughly equivalent to offsetting the electricity consumption of more than 13,000 average U.S. homes.

“The trend of private investment in the solar industry continues to accelerate,” said San Francisco energy and infrastructure partner John Cook. “This transaction is a testament to Recurrent and its ability to attract capital from established investors like Google and KKR.”

Orrick has previously represented Recurrent on a variety of transactions including: its $305 million acquisition by Sharp; its sale of 20MW of solar projects to Duke Energy; in its purchase agreement with UPC Solar of rights to develop up to 350 megawatts of solar projects throughout the United States and Canada; and in connection with its $300 million Series B financing by Hudson Clean Energy Partners, just to name a few.

The Energy and Infrastructure Group has advised over 21 global solar clients on merger and acquisition issues, strategic partnership matters, project finance issues, development issues, tax incentives and regulatory and real estate matters.

Recently, the group was recognized with three Financial Times’ Innovative Energy Sector Deals of the Year – the most of any firm – for their work for BrightSource, Fisker Automotive and the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia.

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