Headwater Energy, a utility-scale solar and energy storage development firm, secured $144 million construction financing for its 112.5 MWdc Gum Swamp solar project in North Carolina, arranged by BridgePeak Energy Capital and funded in part by Pathward.
The loan originated under Pathward’s energy lending program and a lender syndicate, with BridgePeak serving as the lender service provider. The transaction forms part of BridgePeak’s wider plan to enable over $2 billion in energy project financing in 2025. The financing is expected to help Headwater accelerate its expansion in the Southeast, which already includes 177 MWdc of operational projects and a 2.8 GWdc development pipeline.
“BridgePeak is excited to support Headwater’s pipeline of energy projects that will generate low-cost electrons to power AI now and in the immediate future. Gum Swamp will be placed in service in just 18 months, illustrating the value of an ‘all of the above’ energy policy,” said David Thigpen, President of BridgePeak.
“This financing marks an important milestone in Headwater’s continued growth and expansion as a long-term owner and operator of clean-energy assets,” said Michael Cohen, CEO of Headwater. “BridgePeak and Pathward have been exceptional partners whose support reflects the strength of our platform and our shared commitment to building reliable, scalable clean-energy infrastructure across the Southeast.”
Once operational, the Gum Swamp project is expected to produce clean electricity to power the equivalent of 17,000 North Carolina households annually.
Large-scale project funding in the first nine months of 2025 increased by 43% compared with the same period in 2024, according to Mercom’s 9M and Q3 2025 Solar Funding and M&A report.
In November, Enlight Renewable Energy, a developer of renewable energy projects, announced that its U.S. subsidiary, Clēnera Holdings, had secured nearly $150 million in tax equity financing for its Quail Ranch project in New Mexico. The Quail Ranch project, a co-located solar and energy storage facility with 128 MW of solar and 400 MWh of storage capacity, involves a total investment of $275 million.
