Vikings Solar-Plus-Storage Development Nets Financing
Arevon Energy Inc. has closed financing on the Vikings solar-plus-storage project with a combination of debt financing and tax credit transfer.
Arevon secured a commitment with J.P. Morgan to purchase $191 million of investment tax credits and production tax credits, among the nation’s first transactions announced to date that leverage the Inflation Reduction Act’s transferability provision.
The additional $338 million debt facility was financed with MUFG, BNP Paribas, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., and First Citizens Bank, who acted as coordinating lead arrangers. National Bank of Canada also participated as a lender. Stoel Rives represented Arevon as legal counsel; Milbank LLP served as transfer counsel; and Winston & Strawn LLP served as lender counsel.
“Vikings has been a landmark project from its inception. It is one of the nation’s first solar peaker plants, and today it is one of the first utility-scale solar-plus-storage ITC and PTC transferability transactions to close since the Inflation Reduction Act passed in August 2022,” says Kevin Smith, Arevon’s CEO.
Located in Imperial County, Calif., the Vikings power plant features a unique configuration of 157 MW DC of solar coupled with 150 MW/600 MWh of battery energy storage. Vikings is contracted to provide resource adequacy and renewable energy to San Diego Community Power, helping to support grid reliability beginning next year.
The project showcases key U.S. manufacturers, with PV module supply from Arizona-based First Solar, along with solar trackers from Nextracker, whose headquarters are in Fremont, Calif. Tesla is supplying the facility’s utility-scale batteries, which allow the solar energy generated to be directed to the grid during peak demand.
Construction of the facility is well underway, with commercial operations scheduled for the third quarter of 2024. San Diego-headquartered SOLV Energy is performing the construction activities.
