North Carolina Construction News staff writer
energyRe has closed an $815-million financing package for five utility-scale solar projects in South Carolina that will add approximately 360 megawatts (MW) of generating capacity.
The company said the financing is one of the largest solar-only project financing transactions in South Carolina’s history and brings it closer to its goal of investing $2 billion in the state by 2030.
The five projects are covered by 25-year power purchase agreements and are expected to generate tens of millions of dollars in revenue for local governments, energyRe said.
The financing was supported by Bank of America, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) and Santander. Bank of America served as documentation agent, while Santander acted as financial adviser to energyRe.
“This portfolio financing is our largest to date, and it reflects the confidence our lenders have in both the quality of our assets and our team’s ability to deliver,” said Pedro Pereira, energyRe’s chief financial officer.
The projects are expected to create jobs during construction and operations and supply power to homes and businesses over the long term, the company said.
Surya Mohan, senior vice-president of mergers and acquisitions and capital markets at energyRe, said the financing would provide the capital needed to advance the projects and demonstrate the company’s ability to finance its development portfolio at scale.
The transaction was structured and executed by energyRe’s M&A and Capital Markets team, working with Santander and the company’s lending and tax equity partners.
Santander’s Nuno Andrade, head of North America Structured Finance and global head of Digital Structured Finance for its Corporate & Investment Bank, said the bank was pleased to advise on and finance the transaction.
CIBC also supported the financing. Ines Serrao, managing director and head of U.S. Project Finance and Infrastructure at CIBC, said the projects would expand energy infrastructure and contribute to the transition to a more reliable and sustainable power system.
energyRe has broken ground on approximately 450 MW of projects over the past year and has nearly 700 MW in operation or late-stage development.
Its portfolio comprises more than 1.8 gigawatts across 20 projects in South Carolina, North Carolina, Nebraska and Oklahoma. Including previous financing packages, the company has raised more than $1.9 billion to support its solar project portfolio.