energyRe, an independent solar, wind, and energy storage project developer, secured $155 million in project financing and an $85 million tax equity commitment for a 108 MW Lone Star solar project and a 198 MWh energy storage project in South Carolina.
The Lone Star Solar project is currently under construction and is expected to be operational by Fal 2024. The $155 million project financing includes construction debt, a tax equity bridge facility, and a letter of credit facility too. The financing was secured with Santander acting as the Coordinating Lead Arranger. Bank of America has committed $85 million in tax equity. The project qualifies for Investment Tax Credits (ITCs) under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
In January 2023, energyRe announced a 10-year power purchase agreement with Dominion Energy South Carolina (DESC) for Lone Star Solar. Over the life of the project, Lone Star Solar is expected to generate more than $10 million in local property taxes and create approximately 185 jobs during construction.
Syensqo, formerly part of the Solvay Group, will purchase 100 percent of the renewable energy certificates (RECs) generated by Lone Star Solar; the clean power generated by Lone Star Solar will help Syensqo reduce carbon emissions for approximately 35 percent of its U.S. electricity purchases and decrease greenhouse gas emissions of its operations by 73,000 metric tons annually.
“Lone Star Solar reflects energyRe’s commitment to accelerating the U.S. energy transition with reliable, clean power,” said Miguel Prado, CEO of energyRe, “We are grateful to our financial partners for supporting Lone Star Solar, which will be one of the largest solar and storage facilities in the Southeastern United States. Today’s announcement underscores energyRe’s market leadership and our proven track record of delivering results for our communities.”
According to Mercom’s Q1 2024 Solar Funding and M&A report, large-scale project funding announced in Q1 2024 came to $13 billion in 62 deals, a decrease of 24% QoQ compared to $17.1 billion in 60 deals in Q4 2023.
Recurrent Energy, a solar project developer and a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian Solar, recently secured 343 million Brazilian Reais (~$70 million) of non-recourse project financing from Banco do Nordeste do Brasil (BNB) for the Jaiba III solar project in Brazil.
