Aypa Power, a portfolio company of Blackstone, announced it closed $535 million in debt financing for a solar and energy storage project in California.
The developer owner, and operator will use the funds to develop a 160 MW solar project with 160 MW, 640 MWh battery energy storage hybrid co-located project.
Located in San Bernadino County, the Vidal solar project is expected to come online in 2026. The project will provide electricity, resource adequacy and renewable energy certificates to San Diego Community Power under a long-term power purchase agreement.
Construction of the project is expected to generate 260 jobs while generating $13.5 million in local economic benefits, said Aypa Power. It is also expected to contribute toward California’s progress toward its goal of 100% carbon-free electricity in 2045.
Santander Corporate & Investment Banking served as coordinating lead arranger, mandated lead arranger, green loan coordinator and lender. U.S. Bank National Association and Zions Bancorporation, N.A. acted as mandated lead arrangers and lenders. Siemens Financial Services and Associated Bank, N.A. acted as managing agents and lenders.
“Closing this large financing for the Vidal project reflects the strong confidence top-tier lenders have in Aypa Power’s ability to deliver grid-scale assets that generate compelling, long-term returns,” said Marc Atlas, chief financial officer, Aypa Power.
Aypa Power, headquartered in Austin, Texas, develops, owns, and operates utility-scale energy storage and hybrid renewable energy projects across North America. It has 35 projects currently in operation or under construction, and a development pipeline of over 22 GW. The company launched its first project in 2018.
Supply deal
In March, the e-Storage division of Canadian Solar announced it will supply 370 of its SolBank 3.0 lithium ferro-phosphate (LFP) batteries to battery energy storage system (BESS) in California and Texas being developed by Aypa Power.
Announcing the supply and service agreement, which will see e-Storage conduct operations and maintenance at the two systems for 20 years, Canadian Solar said the planned 160 MW (AC), 640 MWh (DC) battery in California and a 200 MW (AC), 998 MWh (DC) project in Texas would be expected to start construction before October.
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