Sol Systems, a solar finance and development company, secured $85 million in debt financing from Macquarie Asset Management, a global asset manager for the construction and development of five utility-scale solar projects in Illinois and Ohio.
Macquarie Asset Management is providing the investment on a fully bilateral basis in the form of a six-year term loan. The facility is subordinated to senior debt and tax equity and is secured against Sol Systems’ ownership interest in the underlying solar projects. The investment is the first tranche of a planned broader collaboration between the companies.
The projects are expected to be completed by the end of 2025. A software services provider has signed a fixed-price power purchase agreement (PPA) for the electricity produced by the projects.
“We are excited about the beginning of our partnership with Sol Systems,” said Harlan Cherniak, Head of Infrastructure Debt in the Americas for Macquarie Asset Management. “The investment aligns with our strategy of providing customized capital structure solutions to top-tier financial partners, strategic infrastructure sponsors, and their portfolio companies, as well as our ongoing commitment to accelerate the decarbonization of the U.S. power and transmission grid.”
“We are thrilled to partner with a leader in infrastructure finance such as Macquarie Asset Management and to have closed this highly creative transaction,” said James Machulak, Senior Vice President of Finance and Operations at Sol Systems. “The financing will help Sol Systems continue working towards its goal of accelerating an equitable transition to a sustainable energy future.”
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.
Ørsted, a Danish renewable energy company, recently secured $680 million in tax equity financing from J.P. Morgan to develop solar and energy storage projects in Arizona and Texas, U.S. The portfolio consists of Eleven Mile Solar Center, a 300 MW solar with a 300 MW/1200 MWh storage project in Pinal County, Arizona, and a 250 MW Sparta Solar project in Mineral, Texas.
