Developer-operator Aypa Power has closed a US$190 million financing for the 200MW/400MWh Bypass BESS project.
Located near Houston, in Fort Bend County, Texas, the battery energy storage system (BESS) project has a long-term offtake agreement with an undisclosed party.
The US$190 million financing package, provided by Japanese-headquartered Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) includes a US$68 million construction-to-term loan and a US$91 million Tax Equity Bridge Loan (TEBL). US$31 million in letters of credit were issued, with US$26 million designated for project-specific needs.
New York-headquartered Morgan Stanley Renewables committed US$94 million in tax equity financing through a hybrid partnership flip, combining traditional flip partnerships with the ability to monetise tax credits.
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SMBC also served as administrative agent and green loan coordinator with Spanish-headquartered Santander acting as coordinating lead arrangers and German-headquartered Siemens Financial as joint lead arranger.
Aypa Power, previously NRStor C&I, before being acquired by Blackstone Energy Partners in 2020, when the company was renamed, previously focused on the commercial & industrial (C&I) market.
The company claims that the project will create hundreds of jobs during peak construction and contribute approximately US$20 million in tax revenue over the project’s lifetime.
Since its acquisition, the company has focused on utility-scale energy storage deployment and hybrid renewable energy projects, making a series of high-profile deals in the years since.
Recently, the company announced the close of a US$398 million financing package for its 250MW/1,000MWh Pediment BESS project in Arizona.
In December 2024, Energy-Storage.news reported on IOU Southern California Edison (SCE) seeking regulatory approval of resource adequacy (RA) contracts, the largest of which covers Aypa Power’s 400MW/3,200MWh Euismod lithium-ion BESS (Premium access article).
Texas has also been an active market for BESS projects, driven by the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) wholesale market’s unique structure which enables merchant opportunities for storage developers. The state accounted for 25% of a total 3,431MW/9,188MWh US grid-scale battery storage deployments recorded in Q3 2024, according to market research firm Wood Mackenzie’s most recent US Energy Storage Monitor Report.
Solar PV and BESS firm Canadian Solar announced that the company will deliver a 315MWh BESS project for the state, and in early December 2024, San Antonio utility CPS Energy and developer OCI Energy entered into a long-term storage capacity agreement (SCA) for a 120MW/480MWh BESS project
