Solar PV developer MN8 Energy has secured US$612 million to support the development of three US solar projects totalling 517MW of generation capacity.
The construction bridge financing came from Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking (Natixis CIB) to support the development of three sites in North Carolina, Kentucky and Illinois. The projects are currently under construction and expected to begin operations by the end of 2025.
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Natixis CIB said the financing contained a “tax-credit-transferability-linked bridge loan”, a mode of financing which was enabled under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to allow renewable energy tax credits to be bought and sold to increase their flexibility in the market.
Jon Yoder, president and CEO, MN8 Energy said: “We value Natixis’ partnership in structuring an innovative financing solution that continues our mission to bring decarbonisation solutions to enterprise customers.”
In its announcement, Natixis CIB said the financing “provides MN8 optionality to refinance the loan in the US Private Placement market, a growing source of long-term debt for renewable energy projects.”
In April 2024 MN8 secured a private placement of US$325 million through selling stock to two investment firms, Mercuria Energy Group and Ridgewood Infrastructure.
MN8 Energy is a spin-out of Goldman Sachs Renewable Power, a subsidiary of US banking giant Goldman Sachs. The company says it has “approximately 4GW” of operational and under-construction solar PV assets across the US and over 1.1GWh of battery energy storage capacity “comprised of over 875 projects across 28 states”.
In May it signed a 457MW supply deal with US thin-film Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) solar module producer First Solar for its Series 6 and Series 7 modules to be deployed across the southern and northeastern US.
The largest US solar projects, often backed by huge international firms like Goldman Sachs, have begun to attract what Yoder called “innovative” financing models. Yesterday, PV Tech reported that Lightsource bp – the solar development subsidiary of oil giant bp – began operations at two Texas PV sites which utilised IRA tax credit transferability and substantial private investment.
