$140 Million For US Solar Project Contracted By McDonald’s

• Lightsource bp has secured $140 million in a tax equity deal for its US solar project 
• The deal with Barclays will enable the company to build, own and operate the 180 MW DC solar plant in Louisiana 
• McDonald's has agreed to offtake power from this project once it is online by 2024-end 

British solar developer Lightsource bp's US subsidiary has announced a tax equity deal of $140 million for a 180 MW DC/145 MW AC solar project in Louisiana from the London-headquartered multinational bank Barclays. 

The 180 MW DC Prairie Ronde Solar Farm is contracted under a power purchase deal with the American fast food chain McDonald's Corporation. Power generated by the project will be enough to power more than 600 McDonald's restaurants annually, says the developer (see North America PV News Snippets). 

The bank acted as the sole external equity investor on the transaction which is one of the initial deals to be led by its new Sustainable Project Finance team, in partnership with the bank's Energy Transition Group. The bank formed this team to provide strategic advice to clients as they explore energy transition opportunities. 

Barclays says this deal will contribute towards its target to facilitate $1 trillion of Sustainable and Transition Financing between 2023 and 2030. 

Lightsource bp's Interim COO and Head of USA, Emilie Wangerman said, "What's really exciting is commitments like Barclays to sustainable and energy transition financing are also helping boost local economies. The Prairie Ronde project is expected to provide more than $20 million tax revenue to St. Landry Parish public services such as local school systems over the life of the project." 

The British developer will build, own and operate the solar farm that will create 250 new jobs during construction. It targets to complete and start commercial operations in late 2024. 

In February 2024, Lightsource achieved a $348 million financing package for its 2 utility-scale solar projects in Texas from a group of lenders (see North America Solar PV News Snippets).