Intersect Spinoff IPX Power Secures $4.95 Billion to Build Massive California Solar & Storage Project
Clean energy developer and producer IPX Power announced that it has secured $4.95 billion in financing to fund the construction and operation of the Darden projects, a large scale solar and energy storage initiative transforming retired agricultural land into clean energy for California’s grid.
The announcement marks the first project financing for IPX since its formation earlier this year, as a spin-out of AI infrastructure-focused clean energy developer Intersect Power, following Google’s $4.75 billion acquisition of the company. IPX focuses on developing, owning, and operating large-scale clean energy infrastructure, primarily utility-scale solar and battery energy storage projects.
The Darden projects, located on privately owned retired agricultural land in California’s Central Valley, is expected to generate up to 1.15 GWac/1.6 GWp of solar power and will include 4.6 GWh of battery storage. Darden is expected to reach commercial operation in 2028.
David Brochu, CEO of IPX Power said:
“Large, complex, innovative projects like Darden are central to the energy transition, and only achievable through deep collaboration with trusted partners. We are thrilled to have worked with Darden’s many financial partners to make this historic transaction a reality.”
The new $4.95 billion construction debt package is comprised of a $403 million letter of credit facility, a $911 million tax equity bridge loan, a $1.81 billion tax credit transfer bridge loan, and a $1.83 billion construction loan that will convert to a $1.83 billion term loan upon project completion, an aggregate $929 million of tax equity commitments, and tax credit purchase agreements for Darden’s aggregate $2.13 billion investment tax credits.
Banks participating in the transaction included MUFG Bank, Banco Santander., Crédit Agricole (CIB), Deutsche Bank, and Societe Generale as Initial Coordinating Lead Arrangers and Joint Bookrunners. BNP Paribas, CIBC Capital Markets, CoBank, ACB, HSBC Bank USA, Intesa Sanpaolo, J.P. Morgan, National Bank of Canada, NORD/LB, Royal Bank of Canada, Standard Chartered, Truist Securities, Wells Fargo Securities and Westpac Banking Corporation as Coordinating Lead Arrangers, and KeyBanc Capital Markets as Joint Lead Arranger. J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley provided the tax equity commitment. J.P. Morgan also committed to purchase the portion of the investment tax credits that will not be allocated to the tax equity investors, and this purchase commitment is expected to be replaced by tax credit purchase agreements with third-party buyers through construction, according to the company.
Rubiao Song, Managing Director and Head of Energy Investments at J.P. Morgan said:
“We are proud to have contributed to this landmark transaction through an innovative combination of tax credit transfer and tax equity commitments at an unprecedented scale, financing significant renewable generation and storage capacity while enhancing energy affordability, security, and resilience.”