US PROJECT ROUND-UP: OCI, Arava and Arevon secure finance, MN8 signs PPA with Meta

The financing takes the form of a construction-to-term loan, a tax equity bridge loan and “various” letters of credit and is the second such deal between ING Capital and OCI Energy, following their work on the 120MW/480MWh Alamo City battery energy storage system (BESS), also in Texas.

OCI Energy noted that it had secured a 20-year PPA with “a Fortune 100 company” to acquire power generated at the SunRoper project once it begins commercial operations, which the company expects in the third quarter of 2027.

“This project exemplifies the high‑quality renewable infrastructure we seek to finance—a strong sponsor partnership, a long‑term contracted revenue profile, and a well‑located asset in one of the most dynamic power markets in the US,” said Sven Wellock, ING managing director.

Despite uncertainty at the federal policy level for the future of US solar, the industry itself, as is perhaps exemplified by this week’s supply of project announcements, is primed for growth. Last week, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced that it expects the US to add a record 86GW of new energy generation capacity in 2026, of which solar will account for 51%; this equates to 43.3GW in new solar capacity, which would be a 60% year-on-year increase.

Arevon Energy raises US$183 million for solar project construction

IPP Arevon Energy has raised US$183 million in debt financing for its own facility, the 124MW Big Muddy solar project, which is currently under construction in Jackson County, Illinois.

Arevon started construction on the project last year, and expects to begin commercial operations at Big Muddy by the end of 2026. The latest round of financing was secured through Intesa Sanpaolo and Crédit Agricole, banks based in Italy and France, respectively, and will be used to support construction work at the project, bringing Arevon’s total raised in project finance to US$5.1 billion over the last two years.

“This successful close is yet another example of Arevon’s commitment to work in lock step with our partners, delivering long-term value for our financial counterparties as well as lasting benefits to communities,” said Arevon CIO Denise Tait.

The news follows a number of project updates from Arevon, including the start of commercial operations at an Indiana solar portfolio last October and the raising of money for a PV project in Missouri in September.

MN8 Energy signs PPA with Meta

Solar PV developer MN8 Energy has signed a PPA with technology giant Meta to sell power generated at its 80MW Walker solar project, which is currently under construction in Juniata County, Pennsylvania.

The developer expects to begin commercial operations at the project by the end of this year, at which point Meta will acquire the entirety of the project’s output. While MN8 did not specify for how long the deal would continue, it described the offtake agreement as “long-term”.

“As demand for data centres and artificial intelligence accelerates, access to reliable, domestic energy has never been more critical,” said MN8 SVP Moe Hanifi, SVP, whose comments echo similar ones made about the importance of meeting the power demand of data centres with renewable energy by Scott Douglas of Centrus, who spoke to PV Tech Premium earlier this year at the Solar Finance & Investment Europe event in London.

MN8’s latest PPA is a separate deal to the raising of US$612 million, completed last year with Natixis CIB, to develop 517MW of new solar PV capacity in the US states of North Carolina, Kentucky and Illinois.