Pattern Energy, a renewable energy developer, owner, and operator, has closed an $11 billion non-recourse financing to construct what it says is the largest clean energy infrastructure project in United States history.
The company is constructing SunZia Transmission and SunZia Wind, a major infrastructure project that will transport clean energy and a large wind project. SunVia Transmission is a 550-mile 525 kV high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line between central New Mexico and south-central Arizona that will transport 3 gigawatts of electricity across these states.
SunZia Wind is a 3.5 GW facility that will reportedly be the largest wind project in the Western Hemisphere. It is being constructed across Torrance, Lincoln, and San Miguel counties in New Mexico.
The financing -- an integrated construction loan and letter of credit facility, two separate term facilities, an operating phase letter of credit facility, an innovative tax equity term loan facility, and a holding company loan facility -- includes numerous financial partners, financed as an $8.8 billion in construction and term facilities, as well as a $2.25 billion tax equity term loan facility.
The project is expected to bring clean power to 3 million Americans and have more than $20 billion in economic impacts. The project will employ more than 2,000 workers on-site during construction. The engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor of the transmission line is Quanta Infrastructure Services Group, and the HVDC supplier is Hitachi Energy. On the wind project, Blattner Energy is the EPC contractor, while GE Vernova and Vestas are supplying the wind turbines.
“Our hope is this successful financing of the largest clean energy infrastructure project in American history serves as an example for other ambitious renewable infrastructure initiatives that are needed to accelerate our transition to a carbon free future,” Hunter Armistead, CEO of Pattern Energy, said in a statement. “We are very grateful to all of our financial partners who are backing SunZia as part of this record-setting project financing. Construction is well underway on this historic project that will deliver clean power with a generation profile that complements abundant solar generation available across the Western United States.”
The financing comes as the United States is seeing a big boom in renewable energy, thanks largely to the Inflation Reduction Act, which included numerous provisions and incentives for new projects. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been allocated to renewable energy projects and more grants have become available to encourage even more growth in increasing domestic clean energy projects.
