Summit Ridge Energy, a community solar project owner and operator, secured $275 million from the global financial services company Mitsubishi and United Financial of Japan Group (MUFG). The capital expands their existing partnership and will be used for project construction and term debt financing.
It is expected to enable Summit Ridge Energy to expand its operations further and execute a community solar pipeline in Virginia and Illinois.
The $275 million upsize adds to the existing $100 million partnership between Summit Ridge Energy and MUFG.
“We are pleased to double-down on our partnership with MUFG, who we see as one of the premier financial institutions operating in this space, especially in this challenging debt market,” said Brian Dunn, Chief Operating Officer at Summit Ridge Energy. “We know we can count on MUFG’s ability to scale with our significant and growing pipeline.”
The two new debt facilities from MUFG will support the construction of up to 15 solar projects in Illinois and 15 in Virginia. It will also provide permanent financing to the new solar projects in Virginia, with 75 MWdc capacity, planned for construction in 2024.
In Illinois, the company plans to add 45 MWdc to the existing fleet of 250 MWdc using the financing.
These projects are expected to provide bill credits to about 13,000 homes and businesses and deliver energy savings to low-income residents and commercial customers.
“MUFG is proud to expand our partnership with Summit Ridge Energy, the leading player in the North American commercial solar market,” said Takaki Sakai, Managing Director of the Project Finance Team in the Americas at MUFG. “We were impressed with Summit Ridge Energy’s capability to develop competitive and well-structured projects. We are excited that Summit Ridge Energy is aiming to play a further role in this field by scaling up the business and look forward to continuing to support its growth.”
Last Year, the company secured a $175 million strategic investment from Apollo Funds, a global investment management firm.
According to Mercom’s 9M and Q3 2023, Solar Funding and M&A Report announced large-scale project funding in the first nine months of 2023 came to $27.5 billion in 169 project funding deals, a 20% increase compared to $22.9 billion in 128 projects in 9M 2022.
Recently, Leeward Renewable Energy, a solar, wind, and energy storage project developer, closed $580 million of tax equity commitments and debt facilities for its White Wing Ranch Solar and GSG Wind projects in Yuma County, Arizona, and LaSalle County, Illinois.
