Developer Avantus has closed more than US$500 million in financing for its 200MW/500MWh Aratina 1 battery energy storage system (BESS) project in Kern County, California.
A consortium of four lenders led by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Truist Securities, ING Capital, and Mizuho provided the financing.
The financing package comprises construction funding, a tax equity bridge loan and letters of credit. Avantus says construction is in progress, and the project is expected to be operational in 2026.
Avantus has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for the project with multiple community choice aggregators (CCAs) in the state.
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According to the company, the BESS will create up to 250 jobs, and generate tax revenue to support local services in Kern County.
Law firm White & Case LLP advised Avantus on the development and financing of the Aratina 1.
In 2022, Avantus rebranded from 8minute Solar Energy, a move it says was intended to represent the scope of the company’s clean energy products and services.
In 2020, Avantus, under the 8minute name, signed two PPAs with two CCAs for the Aratina Solar Centre.
The CCAs, Monterey Bay Community Power Authority (MBCP), and Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE), are located in the investor-owned utility PG&E’s service area.
Under those agreements, MBCP acquired 120MW of solar capacity and 30MW of battery storage with a three-hour discharge period, while SCVE secured 80MW of solar capacity and 20MW of three-hour discharge battery capacity from the 250MWdc/200MWac power plant.
Currently, the company claims to have 30GW of solar and 94GWh of energy storage under development across California and the Southwestern US.
By April Bonner.
Clearway Energy secures over US$1 billion in credit facilities
US clean energy developer Clearway Energy Group has received corporate credit facilities over US$1 billion.
The company noted that Natixis Corporate and Investment Banking (Natixis CIB) served as the coordinating lead arranger and also took on the role of administrative agent for financing facilities.
The corporate credit facilities include a US$400 million revolving credit facility and a US$350 million letter of credit facility. Additionally, it comprises a US$169 million term loan. Natixis CIB further extended a $100 million letter of credit facility as part of the arrangement.
Clearway has not specified how the money will be used, but PV Tech has asked the company for clarification.
However, it has announced a number of renewable project developments in the US. In April, as part of its financial results announcement, the company noted that it had acquired a 100MW operating solar project in California, which is co-located with a battery energy storage system (BESS), following an announcement that it had signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with technology giant Microsoft to sell electricity generated at a 335MW wind farm in West Virginia.
Max Gardner, treasurer and senior vice president of corporate finance at Clearway, said that the facilities provide Clearway with the “financial headroom and flexibility… to grow and capitalise on the opportunities ahead.”
In addition to Natixis CIB, the facilities saw participation from Joint Lead Arrangers including Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, KeyBank, MUFG Bank, National Australia Bank, Royal Bank of Canada and Societe Generale.
This story first appeared on our sister site PV Tech.
Arevon secures US$600 million to accelerate renewables portfolio growth in US
Independent power producer (IPP) Arevon Energy has closed a US$600 million credit facility to support its solar PV and energy storage portfolio in the US.
The credit financing includes a US$350 million revolving loan and letter of credit facility as well as a US$250 million project letter of credit facility, with the possibility to increase the credit facility up to US$850 million.
It was led by financial firm Wells Fargo Bank and National Association acted as administrative agent, while Wells Fargo Securities, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, New York Branch, and Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank acted as co-green loan structuring agents and letter of credit issuing banks.
Bob Krakauer, Chief Financial Officer at Arevon. “With this financing, we are well-positioned to continue developing and delivering reliable, cost-effective solar and energy storage solutions that are essential in powering an American energy future.”
Headquartered in the US state of Arizona, the IPP currently owns and operates over 4.7GW of solar PV and energy storage projects across 17 states, while it has a development portfolio of 6GW.
The company is also building an additional 1.5GW of new capacity, including a 430MW solar PV project in Missouri, a state with one of the lowest installed PV capacities in the US, with less than 1GW, according to numbers from trade body the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). Construction of the project began less than two months after the IPP secured US$509 million in financing for the Kelso 1 and 2 PV projects.
This story first appeared on our sister site PV Tech.
