Dive Brief:
- JPMorgan Chase and Capital One have collectively committed $260 million in tax equity financing to renewable power producer BrightNight for its Box Canyon solar project in Pinal County, Arizona, BrightNight announced Monday.
- The deal will also include deferred contributions from the banks and is structured as a partnership flip that will monetize production tax credits the solar project will generate, according to the Oct. 14 release.
- The Box Canyon financing also comes on the heels of a $440 million strategic investment BrightNight received from Goldman Sachs’ alternative investment arm, announced Oct. 7. The renewable energy company said the equity investment and existing capital commitments should fully fund its five-year business plan.
Dive Insight:
The 300 megawatt Box Canyon project — which BrightNight jointly owns with Cordelio Power — is expected to begin operations in the first half of 2025 and annually produce 900,000 megawatt hours of electricity, the company said. The project is part of a two-gigawatt Arizona portfolio that BrightNight owns with Cordelio Power.
BrightNight expects the project to generate enough electricity to power 77,000 homes and businesses annually in Arizona, according to the release. BrightNight CEO Martin Hermann said in the release that the Box Canyon project “is a model of utility-scale renewable power.”
“[The project] will provide reliable, affordable clean energy to local communities, while creating long-term economic benefits, well-paying American jobs, and strengthening the region's energy security,” Hermann said. “We're proud that this project will support Arizona's clean energy transition and deliver value for decades to come."
The financing from JPMorgan and Capital One follows the closing of a $414 million construction financing round in May that included funding from Zions Bank, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, the Royal Bank of Canada, the National Bank of Canada and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank.
JPMorgan’s part of the transaction will be facilitated through an affiliate, and the partnership’s flip structure will allow BrightNight to monetize its projected clean energy production credits while allowing the banks to use the credits to reduce their future tax liabilities.
BrightNight also announced it increased its corporate credit line from $375 million to $400 million at the same time it announced the Goldman Sachs investment. The increased credit line, structured as a green loan, will allow the company the “necessary balance sheet” to support its U.S. project portfolio, the company said in the Oct. 7 release. In total, BrightNight has a 31 gigawatt portfolio that includes solar, energy storage and hybrid solutions projects.
