A new joint venture (JV) between renewables developer Invenergy and Blackstone Infrastructure Partners has closed the purchase of a 1.3GW solar and wind asset portfolio from American Electric Power (AEP).
IRG Acquisition Holdings (IRGAH), the JV, has closed a US$1.5 billion deal for the portfolio, which consists of 14 projects across 11 states, 165MW of which are solar PV. The other 1.2GW are wind assets.
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AEP announced its intention to sell the portfolio in February, saying that it planned to invest the funds in its regulated wires and generation businesses.
“This transaction was the result of our innovative financing approach, the strength of our investor consortium, and our exceptional team who will integrate the projects into our portfolio in collaboration with our partners and service providers,” said Meghan Schultz, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Invenergy.
IRGAH said that it secured a US$580 million production tax credit transfer with Bank of America Securities, who served as Transferability Underwriter and Placement Agent and Financial Advisor.
“This represents the first announced large scale transferability transaction to close since the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in August 2022 and creates a financeable transferability product that will be used to scale the growth of renewable energy, energy transition, and its associated supply chain development,” said Karen Fang, global head of sustainable finance at Bank of America.
Blackstone has so far invested around US$3 billion into Invenergy, most recently with a US$1 billion in equity capital which it said would support delivering the developer’s existing project pipeline and its new business initiatives.
Earlier this month, Invenergy secured a US$1.5 billion revolving credit facility from Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking designed to support its project development pipeline.
AEP’s subsidiary AEP Energy Partners issued a request for proposals in December seeking solar and wind projects for purchase in the PJM and ERCOT distribution regions of the US.