Investor Monarch Private Capital and renewable power developer Invenergy have closed US$170 million in tax equity financing for the second phase of its Samson Solar Energy Center in Lamar County, Texas.
Invenergy expects to commission a 200MW solar facility at the project before the end of this year, which will be the second phase of development at the centre. When all five phases of development are complete, the centre will have a total power generation capacity of 1.3GW, making it the largest solar project under development in the US, and this week’s news follows the commissioning of a 250MW tranche of the project in May 2022.
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“The tax equity financing of Samson II marks another significant milestone for our flagship project,” said Brian Bortman, senior vice president of finance and capital markets at Invenergy. “This innovative transaction is a testament to Invenergy’s strong financial partnerships and our unmatched capabilities to accelerate clean, reliable energy at scale.”
The entire centre represents nearly US$2 billion in capital investment, and Marathon Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor on the latest phase of the investment. The news is the latest significant investment in the global solar sector, following a US$3 billion commitment made by investment manager Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners earlier this year.
These announcements reflect growing investment into the clean energy space and declining interest in new fossil fuel projects. Figures from the International Energy Agency (IEA) show that the world invested a record US$1.7 trillion into renewable power in 2023, compared to just over US$1 trillion in fossil fuels, the eighth consecutive year that renewable energy investment has outpaced that of conventional fuels.
Perhaps most notably for the solar sector, 2023 was the first year that global investments in new solar projects was greater than investment in new oil production facilities, with the world investing US$382 billion, compared to US$371 billion.
However, the volume of capital now flowing into the solar sector has presented new challenges pertaining to risk management. Earlier this year, John Kaminsky, CEO of kWh Analytics, told PV Tech Premium that “there are different kinds of risks than probably we were wresting with 17 years ago,” as investors need to consider a wide range of factors before committing significant sums of capital to projects.
