Lightsource bp has closed on a $267 million tax equity investment from Wells Fargo & Company, a Fortune 500 financial services company with roughly $1.9 trillion in assets. Along with the sponsor equity investment made by Lightsource bp, Wells Fargo’s tax equity investment finalises the debt financing package that was first finalised in December 2021. Well Fargo’s investment will support the construction and operation of a two-project portfolio totaling 481 MW, which are among the largest projects in each state, and include a 346 MW Oxbow Solar in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana with energy sales to McDonald’s and eBay; and a 135 MW Conway Solar near Happy, Arkansas with energy sales to Conway Corp.
As the portfolio’s tax equity investor, Wells Fargo joins the project finance lenders HSBC Bank USA, ING Capital LLC, Societe Generale, NatWest, Intesa Sanpaolo, Standard Chartered Bank, and Allied Irish Banks as the eighth global financial institution to fund this portfolio of projects. Together, the projects will reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by more than 63,000 metric tonnes. Both projects are slated to be operational in the beginning of 2023 and are estimated to generate 600 direct construction employment.
Earlier this month, Lightsource BP secured an agreement to sell its 247 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project cluster in Aragón, Spain. The solar PV cluster consists of five installations in the Spanish province of Aragón that have been in operation since 2021. For an undisclosed price, these projects were sold to independent renewable energy investors Plenium Partners and Bankinter Investment. The agreement intended to assist the investors in growing their portfolio of renewable energy sources in Southern Europe.
