Renewable energy developer Avantus said the company has secured more than $525 million in construction financing for the Aratina 2 Solar and Storage Project in California. The group on July 9 said BBVA, CIBC, and Santander will provide funding for the facility, which features 150 MW of solar power generation capacity along with 452 MWh of energy storage.
The installation is currently under construction in eastern Kern County, and is expected to enter commercial operation by year-end. The financing package includes a tax equity bridge and letters of credit in addition to the construction funding.
“Aratina 2 is another demonstration of Avantus’ ability to develop and finance large-scale projects in one of the country’s most complex energy markets,” said Omar Karar, executive vice president of Capital Markets and M&A at Avantus. “BBVA, CIBC and Santander’s participation reflects genuine confidence in our track record and our long-term strategy as an owner-operator.”
Eugene Kasozi, head of Project and Infrastructure Finance North America at BBVA, said, “Aratina 2 is a strong example of the high-quality infrastructure projects needed to support the evolving energy landscape in the U.S. We are proud to partner with Avantus on this financing and to leverage BBVA’s project finance expertise to help deliver resilient, long-term energy solutions.”
Second Phase of Project
Aratina 2 is the second phase of the Aratina Solar Center, which includes Aratina 1. The facility in total will have 350 MW of solar power generation capacity and 952 MWh of battery storage. Avantus on Thursday said the company expects to keep an ownership stake and operate Aratina 2, together with Aratina 1, as part of its independent power producer (IPP) strategy.
“CIBC is pleased to support Avantus in achieving this important milestone for the Aratina 2 solar and storage project,” said Anh Nguyen, executive director, Project Finance and Infrastructure, CIBC. “We look forward to continuing our partnership and supporting efforts to meet increasing energy demand across the U.S.”
Aratina 2 is creating about 300 union construction jobs. The project will generate tax revenue to support Kern County public services, and provide permanent operations and maintenance jobs throughout its operating life. The project has 15-year power purchase agreements with utility Southern California Edison.
“We are proud to have supported Avantus as it continues to construct utility-scale renewable projects and deliver clean power to regions with growing demand,” said Bart White, global head of Energy Structured Finance for Santander Corporate & Investment Banking. “We congratulate Avantus, its partners and stakeholders on this achievement.”
Avantus said it has a development portfolio of 13 GW of solar power and 44 GWh of energy storage across its core markets of California, Nevada, and Arizona. The company said that under its IPP strategy, it is on pace to bring 5 GW of capacity online by 2030. Avantus expects to have 788 MW of capacity enter commercial operation, along with another 800 MW under construction, by year-end. That includes the Kitt Solar and Energy Storage Project in Arizona, which closed a financing package of more than $300 million in March of this year.
—Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER.
