Origis Energy has secured $317 million in project tax equity funding from J.P. Morgan for two utility-scale solar and solar-plus-storage projects, located in New Mexico and Mississippi, respectively.
Escalante Solar is a 200 MW plant under construction in New Mexico for Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and its member electric cooperatives. It has more than 250,000 panels installed and is being built on the site of the former 253 MW coal-fired Escalante Station, retired in 2020. The project is set to come online this year.
Golden Triangle II – also set to be completed this year – has a total planned capacity of 550 MW solar plus 600 MWh of battery storage.
The projects will deliver energy and grid resiliency under PPAs executed between Origis Energy and the Tennessee Valley Authority.
“J.P. Morgan is one of the largest financiers of clean energy and this collaboration ensures Escalante Solar and Golden Triangle II meet key customer goals for decarbonization and grid resiliency,” says Vikas Anand, COO and CFO of Origis Energy.
The tax equity agreement leverages both the Investment Tax Credit and the Production Tax Credit incentives of the Inflation Reduction Act.
Construction financing was secured for Escalante Solar and Golden Triangle II as part of the company’s $750 million construction financing facility announced last August to fund approximately 2 GW of capacity across 15 states over the next three years.
Norton Rose Fulbright represented Origis Energy in the transaction. Hunton Andrews Kurth acted as J.P. Morgan’s counsel.
