Terra-Gen closes US$1 billion financing for second phase of world’s largest solar-plus-storage project

September 20, 2022
LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email

Developer Terra-Gen has closed US$969 million in project financing for the second phase of Edwards Sanborn Solar-plus-Storage facility in California, which will bring it to 3,291MWh of energy storage capacity.

The $959 million financing comprises a US$460 million construction and term loan facility and a US$96 million construction and revolving letter of credit facility, led by BNP Paribas, CoBank, ING, and Nomura Securities, as well as a US$403 million tax equity bridge facility from U.S. Bank.

The Edwards Sanborn Solar-plus-Storage facility in Kern County will total 755MW of solar PV alongside the battery energy storage when the second phase comes online over Q3 and Q4 2022 and Q3 2023. It combines both stand-alone battery storage and batteries which charge from the PV.

The first phase came online late last year, as reported by Energy-Storage.news, meaning 345 MW of PV and 1,505 MWh are already operational. The second phase will add 410MW of nameplate solar PV (358MW at the point of interconnection) and 1,786 MWh of battery storage.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis

Not ready to commit yet?
  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

The solar PV is expected to come online in Q4 2022 and the battery storage should be fully operational in Q3 2023.

Mortenson is providing engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services on both the solar and energy storage. First Solar is supplying the solar modules and LG Chem, Samsung and BYD are supplying the batteries.

Unsurprisingly for a project of this size and scope, the eventual total size and capacity has changed several times since it was first announced and a third phase has now been announced making the combined site even larger. The energy storage component has been increased several times and appears to be growing further, while the solar may have been reduced or delayed.

From a planned total of 1,118MW of solar and 2,165MWh of energy storage when first announced in December 2020, Terra-Gen said it is now advancing development on future phases that will include over 2,000MW of incremental solar and energy storage. These future phases will be financed in 2023 and begin to come online in 2024.

Jim Pagano, Terra-Gen CEO, said: “Consistent with the first phase of the Edwards Sanborn project, the second phase deploys an innovate offtake structure that has been well received in the financing markets and allows us to raise the capital necessary to progress the construction of this transformative project.”

Offtakers for the project include cafe chain Starbucks and Clean Power Alliance (CPA), one of California’s growing ranks of Community Choice Aggregator (CCA) groups.

Investor-owned utility PG&E is also procuring a substantial chunk – 169MW/676MWh – of the project’s power through the California ISO’s (CAISO) Resource Adequacy framework, the means by which CAISO ensures utilities have enough supply to meet demand (with a reserve margin).

11 November 2025
San Diego, USA
The 2024 Summit included innovative new features including a ‘Crash Course in Battery Asset Management’, Ask-Me-Anything formats and debate-style sessions. You can expect to meet and network with all the key industry players again in 2025 from major US asset owners, operators, RTOs and ISOs, optimizers, software and analytics providers, technical consultancies, O&M technology providers and more.

Read Next

October 17, 2025
US storage and solar developer-operator Lightshift Energy, along with KeyBanc Capital Markets, have closed a US$75 million credit facility.
October 17, 2025
Utility and power firm Naturgy has started building its first BESS projects in Spain, at four solar PV plants in Almeria and the Canary Islands.
October 17, 2025
Powerlink Queensland is seeking federal approval for transmission infrastructure connecting AGL Energy’s 2,000MWh Tuckeroo battery energy storage system (BESS) to the Western Downs Substation in Australia.
October 17, 2025
The New South Wales Independent Planning Commission has approved Ark Energy’s 3,148MWh Richmond Valley solar-plus-storage project in Australia.
Premium
October 16, 2025
Utility-scale developer SB Energy has received a US$25 million grant from the California Energy Commission (CEC) to purchase BESS units for one of its solar and storage hybrid complexes located in Riverside County, California. 

Most Popular

Email Newsletter