Arevon raises $98 million: Energy developer Arevon Energy has raised $98 million tax equity commitment from the Fifth Third Bank for the company’s 192 MW DC Ratts 1 and 73 MW DC Heirloom Solar Projects. These will together bring online 265 MW DC of new solar capacity in Pike County, Indiana. Previously Arevon raised $299 million for both these projects in September 2024. With the latest round, Arevon counts its total project financings over the last 18 months as exceeding $3.8 billion for new solar and energy storage projects in the US (see North America Solar PV News Snippets: Arevon Lands $509 Million Financing & More).
SMA Solar to improve local supply chain in the US: German solar PV inverter and storage solutions company SMA Solar Technology AG plans to begin the final assembly of its Medium Voltage Power Station (MVPS) in the US. The integrated system comprises a central or battery inverter or transformer and medium-voltage switchgear. It can be used in large-scale solar and storage projects. SMA Solar says local assembly in the US will strengthen the local supply chain while reducing project lead times. SMA America Managing Director of Large-Scale Sales, Technology and marketing, Jay Arghestani explained, “Domestic integration helps shorten project timelines, reduce shipping complexities and may contribute to domestic content strategies under the Inflation Reduction Act, depending on how customers structure their solutions.”
Ormat & Morgan Stanley partner: Geothermal and renewable energy company Ormat Technologies has signed a $62 million hybrid tax equity partnership with Morgan Stanley Renewables for solar and storage facilities in the US. The transaction covers Lower Rio 60MW/120MWh storage facility and the Arrowleaf 35MW/140MWh storage and 42MW solar projects. Ormat said the partnership is part of a broader strategy to optimize project economics and enhance company profitability. It will also help the company advance its goal of monetizing $160 million of tax benefits this year, said Ormat CEO Doron Blachar.
First Nations’ solar project in Alberta: The indigenous community Cold Lake First Nations (CLFN) has acquired majority stake in the 19.8 MW Duchess Solar Project in Alberta, Canada. The project is being developed in partnership with Elemental Energy and supported by the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB), Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation (AIOC), Selkirk Advisory Group, and Equitable Life of Canada. It has secured $48.1 million in financing. CLFN secured its majority stake in the project through a $21 million Indigenous Community Infrastructure Initiative loan and a $5.2 million Indigenous Equity Investment Loan from the CIB. An additional $21 million project finance loan was arranged by Selkirk and funded by Equitable Life. CLFN expects to generate long-term revenue from this investment that it will reinvest into the community to support economic and community development opportunities.
Financing for 47 MW solar: OneEnergy has raised $50.9 million with Rabobank Wholesale Banking North America acting as the Sole Mandated Arranger to fund its 7 solar PV projects across Wisconsin in the US. This portfolio comprises a combined 47 MW. One Energy invests in greenfield development to operations and maintenance.
6 GW solar & storage deal for SOLV: US EPC SOLV Energy has secured contracts from various leading developers to build a combined, more than 6 GW of utility scale solar and storage projects. These projects are owned by Arevon, Clenara, Sol Systems, NewSun Energy, Enfinity Global and Panamint Capital in Arizona, Mississippi, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, and California among other regions. It announced these contracts a the CLEANPOWER 2025 conference held recently. Construction will commence starting from 2025.
Solar power for US data centers: The AES Corporation has entered into 2 long-term power purchase agreements (PPA) with Meta to support its data centers with 650 MW of solar projects. These projects in Texas and Kansas will be grid connected to the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) market. “These solutions support our goal for 100% clean and renewable energy and will add new generation to the grid in these markets,” stated Meta’s Global Head of Energy Urvi Parekh.
In another similar transaction, US-based commercial solar company Summit Ridge Energy has signed a PPA for 5.1 MW solar energy with Digital Realty to help power the latter’s data centers in Illinois. Solar energy will be supplied by Summit Ridge Energy from its 3 solar projects in Illinois that are scheduled to be energized and interconnected with Commonwealth Edison grid by late 2025 to early 2026. Digital Realty’s Illinois-based data centers will be able to offset a portion of their energy consumption while ensuring energy cost savings.