Primergy closes $225m finance for US solar-plus-storage portfolio

Primergy Solar, a developer, owner, and operator of utility-scale solar and battery energy storage projects across the United States has announced the closing of $225 million in project finance for its Valley of Fire (VoF) portfolio.

The package includes a $125 million tax credit sale for the Gemini solar-plus-storage project and a $100 million revolving credit facility from Rabobank for the continued development of the other VoF projects.

The portfolio includes Gemini, which became operational in 2024, and five projects in Nevada, Colorado, and Arizona. The six sites have more than 2.65 GW of solar generation capacity and up to 1.5 GW of battery storage capacity.

The 690 MW Gemini project, near Las Vegas, includes 380 MW of four-hour battery energy storage, for 1.4 GWh of capacity. NV Energy signed a 25-year power purchase agreement for the energy produced by Gemini, which is expected to meet 10% of Nevada’s peak energy needs.

While Gemini is operational, other VoF projects range from early- to late-stage development and have target operational dates through 2030, including the contracted Purple Sage Energy Center, a 400 MWac solar-plus-storage project in Nevada.

Critical

“Valley of Fire is a critical component of our growing portfolio of operational and development-stage projects across the country,” said Tim Larrison, chief finance officer of Primergy. “Adding tax credit sales to our financing toolbox, along with increasing our access to additional credit capacity from leading financial institutions like Rabobank, will help us to continue delivering clean energy at scale, and in the proven Primergy way of responsible, stakeholder-oriented development.”

A new multi-hundred-billion-dollar market for transferable tax credits was created by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) with the intention of accelerating the growth of clean energy and decarbonization projects. A new mechanism enables developers to sell federal clean energy tax credits to third-party buyers who have tax liability.

In a pv magazine USA Week presentation, Alfred Johnson, CEO and co-founder of Crux, discussed the burgeoning market that enables corporate buyers to integrate transferable tax credits into broader tax planning strategies. Before the IRA, the only way for developers to monetize tax credits was through expensive, complex tax equity transactions, which had limited participation, Johnson said.

Primergy Solar is a portfolio company of Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners and is the primary investment platform for Quinbrook’s solar and solar-plus-storage activities in North America. Primergy was advised by Orrick and Paragon Energy Capital for the Gemini tax credit transfer sale. For the VoF credit facility, Primergy was advised by Stoel Rives LLP.

From pv magazine USA.