US solar developer Origis Energy has secured US$317 million from US-based multinational banking company J.P. Morgan in project tax equity for two solar projects in the US, with a combined capacity of 350MWac.
The tax equity agreement leverages both the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) and the Production Tax Credit (PTC) incentives of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
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Located in New Mexico, the 200MWac Escalante Solar project, using the PTC incentives, is under construction for the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and its member electric cooperatives. Tri-State is a non-profit energy cooperative utility that supplies power to its 45 members across four states in the rural western US, including New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska, and is building the project on a the retired 253MW Escalante coal-fired power station
Origis Energy will install more than 250,000 modules in the project, which is expected to be operational in 2024. The company bought the development rights for the project from fellow solar developer TurningPoint Energy in 2020. Albuquerque-based contractor Gridworks is constructing the project, while Origis Energy Services will manage operations & maintenance (O&M).
Meanwhile, the 150MWac Golden Triangle II solar project, with a battery energy storage system (BESS) of 200MWh, will also be completed in 2024.
The project, which will also benefit from the ITC, is one of three Origis Energy solar PV plants under construction in Mississippi. With a total capacity of 550MWac solar and 600MWh of battery storage, the portfolio represents the largest solar plus storage deployment in the state, according to Origis Energy.
Origis Energy signed a power purchase agreement with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) at what it called “competitive rates”.
Construction financing was secured for both projects as part of the company’s US$750 million construction financing facility announced in August 2023 to support the construction of 2GW of new solar and storage projects in 15 US states over the next three years.
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