The Permanent Power Company, part of CIM Group, has closed a construction financing facility of approximately $600m to advance its Grape solar and energy storage project in California.
The financing supports the development of a 246.4MW-alternating current (MWac) solar photovoltaic (PV) plant and a battery energy storage system (BESS) with 150MWac/600MW-hours (MWh) of capacity at the Grape project, which is located at Westlands Solar Park in the San Joaquin Valley.
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Westlands Solar Park covers more than 20,000 acres, making it one of the largest permitted solar parks in the US.
The financing package consists of a $372.3m construction-to-term loan, a $166.7m tax credit transfer bridge loan and a $61.3m letter of credit facility.
Truist is acting as the administrative agent, while Wells Fargo has been named as collateral agent for the facility.
The Grape project is currently under construction and is expected to create more than 400 construction jobs.
The project will be able to supply electricity to more than 86,000 homes in California each year.
A long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) has been signed with an investment-grade, regulated energy service provider for the full capacity generated and stored by the Grape project.
When completed, the Grape project will join Permanent Power Company’s portfolio, which includes plans for around 1,200MWac of solar PV generation and a 690MWac (2.76GWh) BESS.
CIM Group co-founder and principal Avi Shemesh said: “This financing is an important milestone for Permanent Power Company that reflects the confidence our capital partners have in our ability to develop and deliver large-scale power generation and energy storage projects.
“Grape is particularly notable given that an investment-grade offtaker signed a long-term PPA for its full solar and storage capacity prior to completion, underscoring both the strength of the project and the approach we bring to our platform.”
Last month, the Permanent Power Company obtained a $400m financing commitment from funds and accounts overseen by HPS Investment Partners, a BlackRock Private Financing Solutions business.
This funding supports the company’s expansion efforts to develop power, energy storage and transmission projects throughout the US, with a particular emphasis on assets in qualified rural Opportunity Zones.
