Earthrise Energy, Redeux Energy Partners, and Geronimo Power announced project finance deals, portfolio investment, and the commercial operations of two projects, respectively.
Large-scale solar projects are advancing in the Midwest and beyond. Developers and independent power producers are securing project financing and acquiring portfolios, showing strong investor confidence in the industry despite ongoing regulatory uncertainty.
Earlier this week, pv magazine USA reported three deals exceeding $1 billion in project finance. Another set of deals were announced today, with much of the investment occurring in the U.S. Midwest.
First, Earthrise Energy announced it secured a $630 million tax equity and debt financing for its 270 MW Gibson City Solar project in the MISO power market. The deal is comprised of a construction-to-term loan, a tax equity bridge loan, and a letter of credit facility.
The project is among the first solar project financings to use the Illinois Power Agency’s indexed renewable energy credit offtake contract.
BBVA, Intesa Sanpaolo, and Nord/LB served as coordinating lead arrangers and bookrunners for the debt financing, and a “Fortune 500 telecommunications company” provided the tax equity commitment.
Gibson City Solar shares a point of interconnection with Earthrise’s existing thermal power plant and makes use of surplus interconnection service. Earthrise began acquiring portfolios of natural gas peaking power plants in 2021 and is currently developing and constructing adjacent solar capacity across all sites. These projects leverage the existing interconnection rights held by the peaking plants, enabling the company to advance solar projects more quickly.
The project, located in Illinois, is expected to reach commercial operations in 2026.
Next, Redeux Energy Partners announced the close of a $30 million revolving letter of credit facility with Macquarie Group, which served as sole issuer and administrative agent for the deal. The funding is expected to allow Redeux to finance development expenses related to interconnection and power purchase agreement obligations for its utility-scale project pipeline.
The company has a 7 GW solar, 12 GWh battery energy storage project pipeline spanning ERCOT, MISO, CAISO, SERC and WECC energy markets.
FERC Order 2023 has led to rising interconnection costs in many markets. The financing is expected to help Redeux advance projects further through the development lifecycle, derisking projects for its independent power producer (IPP) partners. To date, Redeux has sold nearly 700 MW of utility-scale solar and hybrid project capacity to IPPs.
The company said it is actively marketing a mid-stage portfolio comprised of 1.5 GW of solar capacity and 3.4 GWh of battery energy storage projects in MISO, ERCOT and SERC markets.
In a third announcement, Geronimo Power said it began operations on two utility-scale solar projects in Ohio. The Ross solar project adds 120 MW to the grid, while the Fayette project adds 47.5 MW.
Together the two projects are expected to contribute $29.5 million in new tax revenues for local counties, emergency services, school districts and educational programs. The projects will also lead to an estimated 4.5 million metric tons of avoided carbon emissions over the first 20 years of operation, said the company.
The company also announced it has begun construction of two other solar projects in Ohio, the Sycamore Creek Solar and Dodson Creek Solar projects. Along with its recently completed Yellowbud Solar project, the five solar facilities are expected to add 675 MW of capacity once operational.
“The addition of Ross and Fayette to our Ohio operating portfolio brings our collective projected economic impact to more than $160 million across the Buckeye state,” said Blake Nixon, president and chief executive officer of Geronimo Power.
Watch a construction timelapse of the Ross project below:
