The company – a subsidiary of Michigan-based energy utility CMS Energy – said the US$334 million financing will support the construction of the 200MW Branch solar project in Branch County, Michigan, and the 50MW Genesee Solar project in Genesee county. The Branch project will be the company’s largest asset in Michigan.

Try Premium for just $1

Full premium access for the first month at only $1
Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
Cancel anytime during the trial period

Start $1 Trial

Premium Benefits

Expert industry analysis and interviews
Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Get Premium Subscription

Or continue reading this article for free

Get Basic (FREE) Subscription

Northstar said that BNP Paribas, MUFG and SMBC were the lead arrangers of the funding transaction.

Michigan is not a leading state for solar deployments. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) lists it as 26^th out of the 50 US states for cumulative solar capacity as of the end of 2024, with just over 1,8GW of total capacity. The utility-scale sector contributes the overwhelming majority of Michigan’s yearly capacity additions.

The development from NorthStar Clean Energy would be a significant one for the state’s solar sector; its 250MW is over half of the roughly 450MW of total solar capacity installed in 2024.

There is other work ongoing to increase the share of solar PV in Michigan. In October, DTE Energy commissioned a 150MW PV plant in Michigan; the company has approval from the Michigan Public Service Commission to develop 6.5GW of solar PV capacity in the state by 2042.

NorthStar operates solar, wind, biomass and natural gas plants across various US states. It says it has a pipeline of over 1GW of renewable energy assets.

PV Tech publisher Solar Media will be organising the fourth edition of Large Scale Solar USA in Dallas, Texas 29-30 April. After a record year for solar PV additions in the US, the event will dive into the ongoing uncertainties on tariffs, tax credits and trade policies as more domestic manufacturing becomes operational. Other challenges, such as the interconnection queues and permitting, will also be covered in Dallas. More information, including how to attend, can be read here.

UPCOMING EVENT

Solar & Storage Finance USA 2025

21 October 2025

New York, USA

Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.

UPCOMING EVENT

Large Scale Solar Central Eastern Europe 2025

25 November 2025

Warsaw, Poland

Large Scale Solar Central and Eastern Europe continues to be the place to leverage a network that has been made over more than 10 years, to build critical partnerships to develop solar projects throughout the region.

UPCOMING EVENT

PV ModuleTech USA 2026

16 June 2026

Napa, USA

PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.