US independent power producer (IPP) Cypress Creek Energy has secured US$3.5 billion in financing to support the development of a 1.63GW/1.9GWh solar-plus-storage project in Arkansas.
The financing will support the first two phases of the three-phase Steel River Energy Center project, which comprises 2.45GW of solar PV and 2.9GWh of battery storage, making it one of the largest solar-plus-storage projects in the US. The entire project is expected to be completed by 2029.
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According to the IPP, the financing process attracted significant interest from the lending community and was highly competitive, reflecting strong demand for large-scale energy infrastructure projects.
The construction financing for the first two phases comes less than three months after Cypress Creek acquired the solar-plus-storage project from renewables developer Swift Current Energy in March 2026.
The financing was fully underwritten by the initial coordinating lead arrangers, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Santander, and Wells Fargo.
In addition to the construction financing, the IPP closed tax equity financing with an undisclosed tax equity investor, while long-term power offtake for the first two phases of the solar-plus-storage project has been secured through a virtual power purchase agreement (vPPA) with an investment-grade corporate counterparty.
Kevin Smith, CEO at Cypress Creek Energy, said: “This financing reflects both the scale of the project and the strong support we’re seeing from the capital markets for high-quality energy infrastructure projects backed by experienced sponsors.”
Cypress Creek sells 104MW community solar portfolio to 38 Degrees North
In other news from the IPP, earlier this week, it sold a 104MW community solar portfolio in Illinois to community solar and distributed renewables platform 38 Degrees North (38DN).
The portfolio comprises 16 solar PV projects in an advanced state and expected to begin operations in 2027.
Illinois remains one of the leading US states in community solar and last year alone added 349MW of new community solar capacity, the second most in the country, according to 38 Degrees North.
Jake Carney, co-founder and managing director of 38DN, said: “Our platform is built to develop, acquire, finance, and operate distributed energy projects at scale, and this acquisition reflects this and our capabilities to support continued growth in this segment.”
The companies have worked together since 2018, with 38 Degrees North previously acquiring an 85MW community solar portfolio in New York.
