SB Energy Global, LLC (“SB Energy”) secured a combined $2.4 billion to support energy communities with domestically produced renewable energy at scale. Working with J.P. Morgan, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley Renewables Inc., and Truist Bank, SB Energy has closed approximately $800 million in tax equity, and working with seven other financial institutions (MUFG, Mizuho Americas, ING, SMBC, CIBC, Fifth Third Bank, and Société Générale) raised $450 million in term debt and $1.2 billion in construction debt to support a 1.3 gigawatt (GW) portfolio of four utility-scale solar projects.
Since its inception, SB Energy has been committed to growing domestic clean energy deployment and the U.S. supply chain. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is further catalyzing the U.S. clean energy industry through expansion of tax credits and new approaches to tax equity, including transferability, that SB Energy continues to explore. Overall, SB Energy is proud to support more than 3,600 new direct and supply chain jobs across the four projects all located in energy communities that have seen higher than average unemployment rates due to recent coal closures or fossil fuel retirements.
Three of the projects are also the first utility-scale projects in the U.S. to reach financial close with the “domestic content adder,” a provision in the IRA designed to strengthen America’s manufacturing base and the good-paying jobs that support it. To qualify for the domestic content adder, SB Energy is utilizing 1.1 million high domestic content solar modules manufactured in Ohio by First Solar. Additionally, Nextracker is supplying trackers with recently expanded component providers in multiple U.S. states, including Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Tennessee, among others. All structural steel on these same projects will use domestically sourced steel from Texas and Georgia. SB Energy will continue to lead in partnering with domestic manufacturers to onshore more of the clean energy supply chain.
Rich Hossfeld, SB Energy Co-CEO, said, “The IRA’s domestic content and energy community incentives were designed to expand America’s manufacturing base and create good-paying jobs in communities that need them. We are thrilled to be the first company to reach financial close on projects that utilize these adders with our partners J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley Renewables Inc., and Truist Bank. SB Energy commends our tax equity partners for their industry leadership in clean energy deployment and supporting American workers.”
Rubiao Song, Managing Director and Head of Energy Tax Equity Investments at J.P. Morgan, said, “J.P. Morgan is one of the largest providers of financing, including tax equity to clean energy. We are excited to work with SB Energy on their latest project to support American clean energy transition and job growth.”
Todd Karas, Head of Renewable Energy Finance at Bank of America, said, “We are pleased to work with SB Energy again and support their important mission to drive the growth of American jobs in communities that have long contributed to our country’s energy growth, and now in a sustainable way.”
Jorge Iragorri, Head of Renewable Energy Investments at Morgan Stanley, said, “In just over a year since the passage of the IRA, American workers are realizing the benefits of new clean energy projects. We are excited to help lead, in partnership with SB Energy, the industry in continuing to decarbonize the electric grid.”
Andrew Rosenbaum, Head of Truist Securities’ Power and Renewables Group, said, “We are proud to have executed a considerable number of strategic advisory and financing transactions in the renewable energy sector during the second half of this year, delivering on our energy transition objectives and bringing reliable, cost-efficient energy to customers. We are delighted to support our partner SB Energy on their first-of-a-kind solar project.”
Google is purchasing approximately 75 percent of the energy produced by these four projects to power a growing data center presence in Texas. Google recently announced it will invest $330 million this year in the state that includes beginning construction on a new data center in Red Oak.
J.P. Morgan, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley Renewables Inc., and Truist Bank provided the tax equity for the Orion I, Eiffel, Orion II, and Orion III projects, respectively. MUFG is the lead lender on the Eiffel and Orion II projects, while Mizuho Americas is the lead lender on Orion I and III. Other lenders for the projects are ING, SMBC, CIBC, Fifth Third Bank, and Société Générale.
“By partnering with leading tax equity investors and lenders on these latest financings, we are extending our track record of deploying renewable generation at scale. Moreover, by utilizing the IRA’s domestic content and energy community adders, we have created a blueprint for deploying clean infrastructure that advances America’s prosperity and wellbeing,” said Gianluca Signorelli, SB Energy Head of Capital Markets.
