Terra-Gen said it completed financing on the initial phase of its Edwards Sanborn Solar Storage facility in Kern County, California, near Bakersfield. The Edwards Sanborn Solar Storage facility includes 346 MW of solar modules and 1,501 MWh of battery storage.
Financing includes $804 million senior secured credit facilities comprising a $400 million construction and term loan facility, a $328 million tax equity bridge facility, and a $76 million construction and revolving letter of credit facility. J.P. Morgan is providing the tax equity commitment for the initial phase of the project, with Deutsche Bank leading the construction and term financing.
The project is on land leased from Edwards Air Force Base as well as on adjacent private land. Mortenson is the full engineering, procurement, and construction contractor on both the solar and energy storage scopes. First Solar is supplying the solar modules and LG Chem and Samsung are supplying the batteries.
Terra-Gen said it expects the first 735 MWh of battery storage to come on-line in the third quarter with the balance of this initial phase scheduled to be fully operational by the second quarter of 2022. Other project phases will be financed later this year and come on-line in the second half of 2022 and early 2023. When complete, the near-term phases of the Edwards Sanborn Solar Storage franchise will comprise 760 MWac of solar and 2,445 MWh of energy storage.
Deutsche Bank was sole bookrunner and joint lead arranger. BNP Paribas and ING Capital LLC served as joint lead arrangers. Mizuho Bank, CoBank, Kookmin Bank, Rabobank and KeyBank were lead arrangers.
