Cypress Creek Energy has secured financing amounting to $3.5bn for the first two phases of the Steel River Energy Centre, a large-scale solar and battery storage development in the US.
The arrangement marks the financial close for phase one and phase two of the site, which together will deliver 1.63GW of solar power and 1.9GW-hours (GWh) of battery storage to the local grid.
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The full Steel River Energy Centre is set to be completed in three phases by 2029. Once finished, it is expected to supply a total of 2.45GW of solar power along with 2.9GWh of battery energy storage system (BESS) capacity.
The project aims to meet increasing electricity demand and reinforce local grid reliability.
The lending process attracted interest from banks, with financing fully underwritten by a consortium of initial coordinating lead arrangers comprising Barclays, Santander, BNP Paribas and Wells Fargo.
In addition to construction financing, Cypress Creek completed a tax equity financing agreement with a major tax equity investor.
The company also secured long-term power sales for the first two phases through a virtual power purchase agreement with an investment-grade corporate buyer.
Cypress Creek Energy CEO Kevin Smith said: “This financing reflects both the scale of the project and the strong support we are seeing from the capital markets for high-quality energy infrastructure projects backed by experienced sponsors.
“We value the confidence and partnership of this exceptional group of financial institutions, many of whom we have worked with across prior transactions.”
Barclays acted as coordinating lead arranger, joint bookrunner and Green Loan Agent. BNP Paribas and Santander served as coordinating lead arrangers and joint bookrunners, with Santander also acting as administrative agent.
Wells Fargo participated as coordinating lead arranger, joint bookrunner, hedge coordinator and Green Loan Agent.
Legal counsel to Cypress Creek Energy was provided by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Barclays and Santander served as mergers and acquisitions advisers for the deal.
The project prioritises US-made materials including structural steel sourced entirely from Mississippi County, Arkansas, and domestically manufactured solar panels supplied by First Solar.
In March, Swift Current Energy completed the sale of its under-development Steel River solar and storage project to Cypress Creek Renewables.
