Eolian, BrightNight and esVolta, three US-headquartered developers and independent power producers (IPPs) with energy storage projects in their portfolios and pipelines, have each announced major financing.
Eolian raises US$515 million from six banks
Eolian, a developer and operator of battery storage projects in the portfolio of fund manager Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), said on Tuesday (30 July) that it had agreed a US$315 million green loan and US$75 million credit facility with a group of six international banks.
The total US$390 million financing builds on a previous US$515 million green loan transaction the developer made in mid-2023 with the same six banks: Spain’s Santander, Japan’s MUFG and SMBC, National Australia Bank, Natixis (France) and Lloyds Bank (UK).
Eolian invests in energy storage and renewable energy projects, although its focus to date has largely been on battery energy storage system (BESS) assets in the US, with projects such as the 100MW Chisholm Grid and 200MW Madeiro and Ignacio Grid in Texas developed by Eolian’s wholly owned energy storage power producer subsidiary Astral Electricity.
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The loan was secured under Green Loan Principles against a group of Eolian projects, of which further details were not given in a press release. Other financial backing the company has received to date includes US$925 million in early 2022, again by a consortium that included banks Santander and MUFG.
In early 2023, Eolian made headlines as it claimed to be the first to complete an investment using the investment tax credit (ITC) for standalone energy storage brought into the US market by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This was for its twin Madeiro and Ignacio BESS assets.
esVolta raises financing for 980MWh ERCOT portfolio
esVolta, a pure-play developer, owner and operator of utility-scale energy storage projects, also announced its financing on Tuesday this week.
The company has closed senior secured credit facilities worth US$258 million for a portfolio of standalone BESS projects in Texas, totalling 980MWh of capacity.
MUFG was again involved, as Coordinating Lead Arranger and Green Loan Coordinator. Fellow Japanese finance group Nomura Securities was also a Coordinating Lead Arranger, as was US investment bank KeyBanc Capital Markets. Also involved were Joint Lead Arranger Investec while Cadence Bank also participated.
The credit facility comprises construction and tax equity bridge financing, letters of credit and a long-term loan for three esVolta projects: its 240MW/480MWh Anole project in Seagoville, the 150MW/300MWh Desert Willow project in Midlothian, and Burksol, which is in Dickens County and will be 100MW/200MWh.
According to esVolta’s website, the developer has hedge contracts in place for each of the three projects, although it has kept customer names confidential. Each will be in the ERCOT market which spans most of Texas’ electricity networks.
Most of esVolta’s existing operational projects are in the California market, although it has projects in development, construction or operation in other US states, including Arizona, Virginia, Washington and New Mexico, as well as Texas. The company, founded in 2017, was acquired by sustainability investor Generate Capital in 2022.
Goldman Sachs Alternatives backs hybrid IPP BrightNight
BrightNight, an independent power producer (IPP) specialising in hybrid solar PV, wind and battery storage projects, has secured a US$440 million strategic investment from Goldman Sachs Alternatives.
The financing was announced today, with the transaction expected to close in September.
Goldman Sachs Alternatives is the alternative investment platform of Goldman Sachs Asset Management. It is claimed to have invested around US$16 billion in infrastructure projects since its establishment in 2006.
BrightNight markets its hybrid power plants to utilities and commercial and industrial (C&I) entities seeking firm dispatchable renewable energy resources as well as large landowners looking to put renewable power projects on their real estate.
It has developed its own AI-driven proprietary software, called Power Alpha, which the company uses to ‘optimise the design, development and operation’ of its renewable power plants.
The company is active in the US, India and Australia, and while it appears to be yet to bring any projects into commercial operation from a claimed 31GW global development pipeline, it recently secured grid connection approval for a large-scale solar-plus-storage project in Victoria, Australia, and a US$414 million construction credit facility for Box Canyon, a 300MW solar PV plant in Arizona, US.
Box Canyon will also feature a 600MWh BESS, and Brightnight signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) offtake contract for the project’s output in 2022 with Southwest Public Power Agency (SPPA), representing a group of Arizona municipal utilities and local authorities.
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