Enlight secures financing for 1.2 GWh of collocated battery storage in New Mexico

Enlight has announced the completion of financing for its Atrisco solar and storage project, which it expects will reach full commercial operation later this year. It is currently in the commissioning phase.

The company previously closed financing on the solar component of the facility in December 2023, and the latest announcement pertains to its plan to operate 1.2 GWh of battery storage capacity alongside the 354 MW solar farm.

Financing for the project was provided by a group of international banks, led by HSBC. Tax equity was provided by Bank of America. Atrisco’s tax equity financing qualified for the Energy Community IRA adder due to a brownfield addition to the project.

In total, Atrisco cost $827 million to build. It will be financed by $290 million of term debt and $420 million of tax equity. Enlight will also chip in a long-term equity investment of $117 million.

Atrisco will be Enlight’s largest project once it is completed. It will join the renewables’ company’s other US-based solar-plus-storage facilities, including its Country Acres (392 MW and 688 MWh); Roadrunner (290 MW and 940 MWh); and Quail Ranch (128 MW and 400 MWh), a brownfield extension of Atrisco.

According to Enlight CEO, Gilad Yavetz, the U.S is to be a major part of the company’s future growth. “The Atrisco complex is Enlight’s flagship project in the United States, and today’s financial close is another important step in the completion of this project.

“Enlight is embarking on an ambitious and rapid growth plan in the U.S., which is set to become a major market for us in the coming years, complementing the large and growing capacity footprint we have built up in MENA and Europe.”

Enlight aims to have 59% of its total global installed generation capacity in the U.S by the end of 2026. As of the end of 2023, the figure was 5%. In Jananuary 2023, the company filed for an IPO on the U.S’ Nasdaq stock exchange under the same ticker, ENLT, it uses on the Tel Aviv stock exchange.