December 17, 2024
CleanCapital acquires a project portfolio of 40 assets and adds an investment of $145 million. Dimension Energy secures a financing package to support 30 community solar projects in seven states. Aypa Power receives financial support for an energy storage project in Arizona. Read more about these stories in the latest version Solar financing spotlight.
Clean Capital has acquired a portfolio of 40 assets totaling 22.7 MW Kendall Sustainable Infrastructure (KSI), one of the first established institutional owners of community solar projects. The acquisition marks a milestone for both companies and brings CleanCapital’s portfolio of operating and under-construction assets to more than 240 projects with a total capacity of more than 340 MW. The sale concluded the life cycle of KSI’s first of three funds dedicated to space.
Furthermore, Manulife Investment Management (Manulife IM), together with its leading institutional co-investors, has increased its equity investment in CleanCapital with a new tranche of financing totaling $145 million.
To date, CleanCapital has committed more than $1 billion to new construction and operations of solar and energy storage assets since Manulife IM’s founding. initial investment in 2021.
“The growth of data centers and the return of manufacturing is driving demand for electricity at a pace not seen in decades,” said Thomas Byrne, CEO of CleanCapital. “Rapid ramp-up of solar and energy storage installations is critical to meeting those needs of businesses, communities and consumers. This latest acquisition and capital injection demonstrates that our team has the support and track record to lead in this sector.”
Kendall’s newly acquired solar portfolio consists of net metering and community solar assets that entered commercial service between 2015 and 2018. The solar assets serve a variety of customers including MUSH, utilities, C&I and community solar subscribers. Of these, 38 are in Vermont, the remaining two in New York and California.
“KSI pioneered this space years ago by identifying, financing and building this portfolio,” said John Chaimanis, co-founder and director of KSI. “We built our company on the principles of fair trade, scale through repetition and the use of top quality equipment.”
Dimension closes $284 million loan package for 122 MWdc DG portfolio
Dimension Energy has closed a $284 million bridge loan to support the construction of a 122MWdc portfolio of 30 community solar projects.
The loan was financed through First Citizens Bank, which acted as lead debt syndicator, alongside ING, National Bank of Canada, Comerica, Cadence, Denham and Siemens. In addition, Dimension closed a structured equity investment from HASI in a new project joint venture (JV).
Dimension’s portfolio of projects is spread across Delaware, Illinois, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The portfolio includes the company’s first community solar projects in Illinois and Pennsylvania.
“This significant capital investment is a clear sign that the future of community solar is bright,” said Patrick Schaufelberger, SVP of project finance for Dimension Energy. “We are excited to complete another transaction with our existing banking partners and bring on new partners in HASI, Denham and Siemens, allowing Dimension to enter new markets and bring affordable energy and good jobs to more Americans in 2025.”
The loan caps a banner year for Dimension’s project finance activities. The company announced its first enterprise-level operating facility in Septemberwith Deutsche Bank’s first-ever pre-NTP investment in US community solar. In July, Dimension announced that the company will invest a total of $3 billion over the next five years and will have a total of more than 800 MW of pre-construction-to-operations by the end of next year, with 2.8 GW under development in 13 markets . , including a 44 MW project in California that is among the largest community solar projects in the state.
Aypa Power secures $398 million for BESS project in Arizona
Aypa powera Blackstone portfolio company and leading developer and operator of utility-scale energy storage and hybrid renewable energy projects, has announced the successful closing of a $398 million financing package for the Pediment Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), a 250 MW/1,000 MWh project located in Mesa, Arizona. The milestone highlights Aypa’s commitment to advancing Arizona’s energy infrastructure as the state looks to more than double its energy capacity by 2035.
The financing package includes a construction-to-back-leverage loan, a bridge loan with tax credits and letters of credit. The financing group was led by Société Générale, ING Capital LLC (also acting as green loan coordinator) and Bank of America as coordinating lead arrangers, with Zions Bancorporation (also acting as administrative agent), Royal Bank of Canada and Desjardins Group. acting as Joint Lead Arrangers at the financial close.
The Fronton BESS will play a key role in supporting the growing data center market in the region and increasing the integration of renewable energy. The project, operating under a 20-year toll agreement with Salt River Project (SRP), is expected to generate more than $16 million in direct economic impact, including $14 million in property tax revenue for Maricopa County during its first 20 years of operation.
“Securing this significant financing reflects Aypa Power’s ability to execute large-scale energy storage projects and is a testament to the quality of the projects we bring to market,” said Bill Nguyen, Executive Vice President of Finance at Aypa Power. “The facility’s innovative structure and support from diverse, esteemed financial institutions reflect the confidence of our capital partners and provide the flexibility to advance Frontiment’s construction.”
Trent Hazelwood, director of Société Générale, said: “Société Générale is honored to be working with Aypa Power and fellow lenders on this important project. The Fronton BESS will play a critical role in strengthening the reliability and flexibility of renewable energy systems for Maricopa County and Arizona, advancing the region’s clean energy future.”
“Pediment represents a well-structured financing for a high-quality battery energy storage project,” said Sven Wellock, Managing Director and Lead of Energy – Renewables & Power at ING Capital. “ING is proud to have played a leading role in supporting these efforts and contributing to the continued growth and success of Aypa Power.”
“Amid rising energy demand, energy storage is critical to ensuring reliability during the transition to a lower-emissions electricity grid,” said Omer Farooq, Managing Director of the Global Sustainable Finance Group at Bank of America. “This transaction supports Aypa Power’s efforts to deliver much-needed capacity to Arizona’s energy market.”
Now that financing has been secured, the Fronton BESS is on track to meet key construction milestones, with work expected to begin in 2026.
Convergent completes $150 million financing for energy storage project pipeline
Convergent Energy and Power has entered into a programmatic construction loan, a tax share bridge loan and a letter of credit with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG). The financing will provide Convergent with capital to accelerate the build of its distributed energy storage and solar PV portfolio in North America.
The facility is structured so that Convergent will receive funding for its distributed systems in the near term as the company breaks ground on hundreds of millions of dollars of additional energy storage and solar PV systems. The initial facility provides $150 million in financing and provides a framework for future financing rounds as Convergent expands its existing pipeline of more than $1 billion in capabilities.
“This construction facility ensures we will continue to lead the way in delivering cheaper, cleaner and more reliable energy to businesses and utilities,” said Frank Genova, CFO and co-founder of Convergent. “Distributed generation assets are an integral part of the clean energy transition and provide critical infrastructure to modernize our aging electric grid. We applaud MUFG for recognizing the power of Convergent’s platform and look forward to expanding our partnership in the coming years as we meet the growing demand for more cost-effective, reliable and clean energy solutions, especially battery storage. ”
Convergent has more than a decade of expertise in financing and managing all aspects of the energy storage development cycle to help customers reduce electricity costs and increase reliability. The company’s industrial and utility businesses can deliver seven-figure savings while advancing the clean energy transition.
“Convergent has become a leading platform in the clean energy transition thanks to its ability to build systems efficiently and cost-effectively,” said Fred Zelaya, Managing Director of MUFG. “As demand for electricity increases, distributed generation resources, such as battery storage, will support the delivery of clean, reliable energy. We are proud to offer Convergent a tailored, long-term financing solution as the company continues its strong track record of bringing critical energy storage solutions online.”
Convergent has more than 800 MW/1 GWh of energy storage and solar-plus-storage systems in operation or under development, and more than $1 billion invested or committed to systems in operation or under development.
Keywords: energy storage, financing