Strengthens Capital Efficiency and Supports Scalable Renewable Expansion
Earthrise Energy, an independent power producer, today announced the successful close of a $630 million, first-of-its-kind tax equity and debt financing for its 270 MWac solar project, Gibson City Solar, within Illinois’ MISO power market. The project is expected to achieve commercial operations in 2026. The debt financing is comprised of a construction-to-term loan, a tax equity bridge loan, and a letter of credit facility. BBVA, Intesa Sanpaolo, and Nord/LB served as Coordinating Lead Arrangers and Bookrunners for the debt financing, and a Fortune 500 telecommunications company provided the tax equity commitment.
This novel transaction is distinguished by its shared point of interconnection between the solar project and Earthrise’s existing thermal power plant, using surplus interconnection service. The transaction is also one of the first solar project financings to utilize the Illinois Power Agency’s Indexed Renewable Energy Credit offtake contract.
“Securing this financing for Gibson City Solar marks a significant milestone for Earthrise, and we are proud to have structured the first solar project finance transactions utilizing surplus interconnection service in MISO. This structure presented attributes that required innovative structuring, and together with the coordinating lead arrangers and tax equity investor we developed solutions which we believe will serve as a blueprint for similar projects going forward,” said Kenton Harder, VP Capital Markets, Earthrise Energy.
Earthrise began acquiring portfolios of natural gas peaking power plants in 2021 and is currently developing and constructing adjacent solar capacity across all sites. These projects leverage the existing interconnection rights held by the peaking plants to deliver clean, cost-effective power to the grid with unparalleled speed to market. Earthrise’s current project pipeline represents more than 1.4 GWs of new clean energy capacity expected to be brought online by the end of 2028, with future project financings likely to adopt a similar structure.
“At Earthrise, we are committed to advancing a future where clean energy is reliable and resilient. This transaction marks a pivotal achievement in delivering utility-scale solar solutions to the grid backed by a differentiated project development strategy, robust financial innovation, and operational discipline,” added Jeff Hunter, CFO, Earthrise Energy.
“It has been a pleasure to collaborate with Earthrise in support of this important set of financings. As the industry aims to build a more sustainable future while serving increasing power demand, it is essential to embrace a comprehensive approach that leverages existing infrastructure to advance clean energy expansion. We look forward to Earthrise’s continued leadership and impact across the clean energy markets,” concluded Ari Pribadi, Global Co-Head of Investment Banking, Marathon Capital.
Marathon Capital acted as exclusive financial advisor to Earthrise on the overall transaction. Cornerstone Financial Advisors acted as exclusive financial advisor to the tax equity investor. Latham & Watkins LLP acted as principal counsel to Earthrise. Milbank LLP served as principal counsel to the lenders, with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP as principal legal counsel to the tax equity investor.
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