Carlyle Portfolio Company-owned developer Copia Power has closed a US$1.71 billion debt facility to fund construction of its Maricopa Energy Centre Projects.
The centre, located in Maricopa County, Arizona, US, consists of 550MW of solar and 2,200MWh of battery energy storage capacity. The project, which will be constructed in two phases, has secured power purchase agreements (PPAs) with the utility Arizona Public Service (APS) and is expected to be operational in 2026-2027.
Copia says that once the centre is fully operational, it will be Arizona’s single largest energy transition power generation project.
Financing, executed by BNP Paribas, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), Crédit Agricole CIB, KeyBanc Capital Markets, Natixis CIB, and Wells Fargo as Coordinating Lead Arrangers, provides US$1.71 billion to fund the construction and operations of the Maricopa Energy Centre. CIBC also acted as Administrative Agent, and Natixis CIB as Documentation Agent.
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Copia was founded by Carlyle in 2021. With the Maricopa Energy Centre, its total installed capacity of financed power infrastructure projects in Arizona is 1.5GW of solar and 4.5GWh of storage.
Additionally, the company says it is actively developing more than 15GW of renewable energy projects and 12GW of data centre campuses in the US.
In January, investor-owned utility (IOU) Southern California Edison (SCE) sought expedited approval from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for six separate offtake agreements associated with Copia Power’s Centennial Flats hybrid solar and BESS facility in La Paz County, Arizona (Premium access article).
Arizona has a growing electric demand. Electric load in the Phoenix Metropolitan area is forecast to continue growing rapidly. According to the Arizona Corporation Commission, the state set a record high for peak energy demand during heatwaves in early August and July of 2024. As the state continues to grow, energy demands will follow.
APS has been part of multiple offtake agreements for clean energy projects in Arizona, signing a PPA with US developer Avantus for a 100MW solar PV project in Pinal County, Arizona. Prior to the PPA with Avantus, APS signed a tolling agreement with Strata Clean Energy for the 100MW/400MWh White Tank energy storage project in Avondale, Arizona.
APS also signed a 20-year tolling agreement with Strata in May 2023 for a 255MW/1GWh BESS. That project was the result of an All-Source request for proposals (RFP) conducted by APS in 2022.
Dan Murphy, Copia’s Managing Director and Head of Capital Markets said of the Maricopa Energy Centre financing:
“Closing the Maricopa Energy Center financing is another major milestone for Copia as we continue to build out our pipeline of large-scale energy, critical infrastructure campuses.”
“We have raised over US$3.5 billion of financing in less than six months which is a testament to the strength of the Copia team, our assets, and the ongoing support of Carlyle and our capital partners.”
