Wells Fargo has made the largest equity investment in solar energy in the company’s history – in Nevada Solar One, a 64-megawatt Concentrated Solar Power plant southeast of Las Vegas. The $266 million project developed by Acciona Energy is the largest solar energy facility built in the world in 16 years.

The transaction is the first leveraged lease structured financing for a CSP plant in the U.S. Wells Fargo participated as one of three equity investors including an affiliate of Northern Trust and JPMorgan Capital Corporation who underwrote the equity and led the equity investors. Debt participants include Banco Santander and BBVA of Spain, and CAIXA of Portugal.

The electricity generated will be purchased by Nevada Power Company and Sierra Pacific Power Company through long-term power purchase agreements at fixed electricity prices.

Nevada Solar One’s solar field covers 400 acres and features more than 182,000 parabolic trough-shaped mirror panels.