Lightsource bp said it closed on a $533 million multi-project financing package and started construction on its 345 MW Ventress Solar project some 30 miles northwest of Baton Rouge in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana.
Lightsource bp will build, own and operate the facility and sell the energy to McDonald’s Corp. and eBay Inc. under long-term power purchase agreements.
Also included in the construction financing deal is the 135 MW Conway Solar project located near Happy, Arkansas, some 55 miles northeast of Little Rock. Lightsource bp will build, own and operate the facility and deliver energy to Conway Corp. under a long-term power purchase agreement for their customers in the City of Conway.
Construction on the Conway plant will start in March, with full commercial operation expected in mid-2023. Gibson Technical Services, a unit of Orbital Energy Group, is the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractor for the photovoltaic solar plant.
Debt for the entire portfolio was provided by a number of lead arangers, with the balance of equity requirements invested and supported by Lightsource bp.
Participants included HSBC Bank USA; National Association; ING Capital LLC; Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A., New York Branch; NatWest; Societe Generale; and Standard Chartered Bank.
Lightsource bp said that in the past two years it has raised more than $2.3 billion for projects in 10 states.
Construction at the Ventress Solar site has started, with full commercial operation expected in late 2023. LPL Solar is the EPC contractor, and Ampirical Solutions will be the EPC for the related substation and switchyard.
In late December, Lightsource bp closed on a $376 million multi-project financing package and mobilized construction on its 293 MW Sun Mountain solar project in Pueblo, Colorado, and its 173 MW Bellflower Solar project in Indiana.
Lightsource bp will build, own and operate the Colorado solar facility and deliver the energy it generates to Xcel Energy under a long-term power purchase agreement. The solar project is Lightsource bp’s second in Pueblo, representing cumulatively almost 600 MW of solar capacity.
The Bellflower Solar project is about 40 miles east of Indianapolis in Henry and Rush Counties. A power purchase agreement with Verizon Communications Inc. was announced in early 2021.
Both solar projects are part of a portfolio financing package. The tax equity investment was secured from Bank of America, marking its fourth transaction with Lightsource bp in two years.