From: Mercom India
Intersect Power, a U.S.-based renewable energy company, has closed an $800 million revolving corporate credit facility to support the development, construction, and operation of its upcoming portfolio of renewable energy, energy storage, and green hydrogen projects.
The company has a base portfolio of 2.2 GW of solar and 1.4 GWh of co-located energy storage under construction or in operation.
The company’s business plan includes growth in grid-tied renewables and large-scale clean energy assets, including green hydrogen.
Deutsche Bank, Nomura Securities International, and Santander Corporate & Investment Banking served as Coordinating Lead Arrangers and Joint Bookrunners for this revolving loan and letter of credit facility. Santander CIB also acted as the transaction’s Green Structuring Agent and Administrative Agent.
Other participating banks include First Citizens Bank, HSBC, and Celtic Bank Corporation, serving as Joint Lead Arrangers and participating lenders.
The loan includes a Green Financing Framework that aligns with the 2023 LSTA Green Loan Principles and ICMA Green Bond Principles.
Intersect Power’s Green Financing Framework underwent a comprehensive review by Morningstar Sustainalytics, which published a Second-Party Opinion Report confirming Intersect’s adherence to the Green Loan Principles.
According to Sheldon Kimber, CEO of Intersect Power, this deal represents one of the largest ever executed in the clean energy sector. The credit facility will enable Intersect Power to deploy gigawatts of clean energy projects encompassing solar, wind, and green hydrogen technologies.
Kimber emphasized that this milestone demonstrates the infrastructure sector’s inevitability and immense growth potential as the climate crisis necessitates a comprehensive global energy and industrial infrastructure rebuild.
Intersect Power was advised by Kirkland & Ellis as legal counsel, while Norton Rose Fulbright represented the coordinating lead arrangers in their legal capacity. Riverside Risk Advisors supported Intersect Power as an interest rate hedge advisor throughout the transaction.
Last September, Intersect Power closed an aggregate of $2.4 billion of new financing and an additional $675 million against earlier commitments for developing four solar projects with a cumulative capacity of 1.5 GW and 1 GWh battery energy storage system.
Global venture capital funding for the solar sector in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023 came to $2.1 billion in 18 deals, a 40% increase compared to $1.5 billion raised in 18 deals in Q4 2022, according to Mercom’s Q1 2023 Solar Funding and M&A Report. Year-over-year funding was 75% higher compared to Q1 2022.
