WEC Energy Group has agreed to pay Invenergy $459 million for 90 percent of Delilah I, a 300 MW solar farm in northeast Texas that was still being built. Fifteen months earlier, WEC bought 80 percent of Samson I, a running solar farm in the same complex from the same seller. Adjusted for the stake each deal bought, the unfinished project costs considerably more per megawatt than the finished one.
Key takeaways
- WEC Energy Group agreed on 29 April 2024 to acquire a 90 percent stake in the 300 MW Delilah I Solar Energy Center in Texas from Invenergy for $459 million.
- Delilah I is part of Invenergy's Samson and Delilah solar complex about 140 miles northeast of Dallas, in the ERCOT market, and is eligible for production tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act.
- Leap records the WEC Delilah I deal at $1.53 million per MW on full nameplate; grossed up to a 100 percent stake, the price is about $1.70 million per MW.
- In January 2023 WEC Energy Group agreed to buy 80 percent of the operating 250 MW Samson I solar project from Invenergy for $250 million, about $1.25 million per MW on a 100 percent basis.
- Delilah I sells its power under a long-term PPA with Honda, while Samson I supplies AT&T, under a contract Enerdatics estimates at 15 years.
Why gross up a 90 percent stake before comparing prices?
Because $459 million buys nine tenths of the project, not all of it. Dividing the price by the full 300 MW gives $1.53 million per MW, which is how Leap records it. That understates what the whole asset is worth by the slice WEC did not buy.
Grossing up means scaling the price to what 100 percent would cost at the same valuation. For Delilah I, $459 million divided by 0.9 gives about $510 million for the whole project, or about $1.70 million per MW. The adjustment is small at 90 percent. It is larger for Samson I, where WEC bought 80 percent.
Samson I cost $250 million for 80 percent of 250 MW. On nameplate that is $1.00 million per MW. Grossed up, it is about $1.25 million per MW. On a like-for-like basis, Delilah I is priced roughly 36 percent above its sister project.
Why would an unfinished project cost more than a running one?
The usual rule runs the other way. A project under construction still carries building risk, so in principle buyers pay less for it than for an asset that is already generating. Delilah I breaks that rule against Samson I, and the records suggest a few reasons.
The first is timing. The deals are fifteen months apart. Samson I was agreed in January 2023, Delilah I in April 2024, and solar equipment, construction and financing costs over that stretch all feed into what a finished plant is worth to its buyer.
The second is the tax credit. Both projects are eligible for production tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act. A production tax credit pays a fixed amount for each MWh generated over the first ten years of operation. Samson I began operating in May 2022, so part of its credit window had already run by the time WEC bought in. Delilah I's window had not started.
The third is the contract. Delilah I sells to Honda under a long-term PPA. Leap links the project to a 200 MW agreement Invenergy signed with Honda in November 2020 for the Samson Energy Center. Samson I sells to AT&T, and Enerdatics estimates that contract at 15 years. Leap does not record the length of Delilah I's contract, so the comparison rests on the price and the timing rather than the terms.
How does Delilah I compare with other US solar deals?
It sits at the upper end of the market. Enerdatics' data shows 101 US solar asset deals announced in 2024, of which 30 carry a usable price. The median across all stages is $0.78 million per MW, pulled down by development-stage deals. For projects under construction the median is $1.39 million per MW across four priced deals, with a range from $0.10 million to $1.90 million. Operating assets have a median of $1.27 million per MW across ten priced deals. On these small samples, construction-stage deals priced above operating ones in 2024, the same inversion Delilah I shows against Samson I.
Delilah I's $1.53 million per MW on nameplate is already above the construction-stage median. Grossed up to $1.70 million, it sits just below the 75th percentile of the construction-stage range, which is $1.75 million. The same stake adjustment changes the reading of EDP's sale of 80 percent of three operating US solar projects to Eni's Plenitude, recorded at $1.18 million per MW on 339.9 MW.
WEC's later deals with Invenergy show a similar pattern. In March 2025 it agreed to buy 90 percent of the 332.5 MW Hardin III solar project in PJM for $406.1 million, about $1.36 million per MW on a 100 percent basis. WEC's October 2022 purchase of 80 percent of the 326 MW Maple Flats project for $360 million works out at about $1.38 million per MW on the same basis. Of the four Invenergy solar projects in which WEC has bought 80 or 90 percent, Delilah I carries the highest grossed-up price.
What does the deal signal for utility buyers of Texas solar?
It signals a repeatable structure. WEC buys 80 or 90 percent of a project that Invenergy has developed and built, and Invenergy keeps a minority. Leap's project record shows Delilah I today owned 90 percent by WEC and 10 percent by Invenergy. The seller stays in, which keeps it aligned with the asset's performance.
It also signals that contracted Texas solar commands a premium even before it runs. The project carries a corporate offtaker and a full ten-year credit window ahead of it. For a regulated utility group looking for steady, contracted earnings, those two features are worth paying for.
The deal summary said Delilah I was expected to enter commercial operations by the end of June. Leap's project record dates the start of operation to 13 February 2025. The gap is a reminder that a buyer paying a construction-stage premium is also accepting some of the timing risk that comes with it.
Frequently asked questions
How much did WEC Energy Group pay for Delilah I? WEC Energy Group agreed to pay $459 million for a 90 percent stake in the 300 MW Delilah I Solar Energy Center in Texas, announced on 29 April 2024, with Invenergy as the seller.
What is the Delilah I price per MW? Leap records the WEC Delilah I deal at $1.53 million per MW on full nameplate capacity. Grossed up to a 100 percent stake, the price is about $1.70 million per MW.
How does Delilah I compare with Samson I? WEC bought 80 percent of the operating 250 MW Samson I for $250 million in January 2023, about $1.25 million per MW on a 100 percent basis, so Delilah I is priced roughly 36 percent higher on a like-for-like basis.
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