Enlight Renewable Energy Ltd. announced that it has reached the financial close for the energy storage portion of its Atrisco Solar and Energy Storage project, located outside Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.
The financial close for the Atrisco Solar project was completed in 2023, and with this latest financing of the Energy Storage portion, the financing and tax equity arrangements for the complete project are completed.
The Atrisco complex features 364 megawatts (MW) of solar generation capacity coupled with 1.2 gigawatt hours (GWh) of battery storage.
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With a total construction of $827 million, the project will be financed through $290 million in term debt and $420 million in tax equity, covering 86% of the total cost.
Enlight Renewable Energy Ltd.’s long-term equity investment amounts to $117 million, representing the remaining 14%.
As the company’s largest project to date, the Atrisco complex is currently in the commissioning phase and is expected to achieve a partial Commercial Operation Date (COD) soon, with a full COD anticipated later this year.
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As part of the financial close, Enlight Renewable Energy’s subsidiary, Clenera Holdings LLC, secured a $401 million loan from a consortium of eight global banks led by HSBC to finance the construction of Atrisco Energy Storage.
This loan will transition into a $185 million term loan and $222 million in tax equity financing from U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance upon the project’s Commercial Operation Date (COD).
The term loan features a 20-year amortization with a 5-year mini-perm and an all-in interest rate of 5.6% to 5.9%. These favourable terms highlight the project’s high quality.
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The Atrisco Solar project was funded by a consortium led by HSBC, with tax equity from Bank of America. The project’s tax equity benefited from the Energy Community IRA adder due to its brownfield component.
For the Atrisco Energy Storage project, Enlight anticipates recycling $234 million of equity back into its balance sheet to support future growth.