Origis Energy, a vertically integrated renewable energy platform and solar project developer, secured a $136 million construction financing facility and conversion to a term loan with MUFG for the development of a 75 MW Rice Creek Solar project in Florida. The project is currently under construction.
The Rice Creek Solar, located in Putnam County, is a PV solar project contracted by the Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA) for its members.
“Origis and MUFG continue to build a strong alliance. MUFG’s deep expertise in this sector and their well-defined underwriting process enable Origis to focus on speed to market and successful scaling of our business,” said Vikas Anand, Chief Executive Officer, Origis Energy. “Rice Creek Solar is a perfect example of moving the clean energy transition forward through collaborative municipal programs. We thank MUFG for their support and look forward to delivering the project for FMPA.”
Latham & Watkins represented Origis Energy in the transaction, and Akerman served as Local Counsel. Milbank acted as MUFG’s counsel, and Greenberg Traurig served as its Local Counsel. The project is expected to qualify for an Energy Community Adder to Investment Tax Credits under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provisions. The additional IRA incentive is due to the project’s proximity to a recently decommissioned coal power project in the same census tract.
In January, Origis Energy secured $317 million project tax equity financing from J.P. Morgan to develop two utility-scale solar and solar plus storage projects. The renewable energy projects are located in New Mexico and Mississippi.
According to Mercom’s recently released 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.
