CohnReznick Capital Advises sPower in Raising Tax Equity and Debt for 620MW Solar Project

CohnReznick Capital (“CRC”) is pleased to announce that sPower, a leading renewable energy Independent Power Producer (IPP), has closed on a $350 million tax equity commitment and a credit facility over $700 million for the Spotsylvania Solar Energy Center in Spotsylvania County, Virginia.   At 620 MW DC, this is the largest solar project east of the Rockies and the largest single-asset financing in sPower’s history.

CohnReznick Capital acted as financial advisor to sPower on the transaction, managing both the tax equity and debt advisory processes.

The project – currently under construction with phases coming online through completion in summer 2021 – will offset approximately 825,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions each year and generate an estimated 700 jobs during construction and 20–25 full-time positions during operations. In addition to increased property tax revenue for Spotsylvania County, the project will generate millions of dollars in additional revenue for the local community through capital investments and purchasing of local goods and services.

Wells Fargo’s Renewable Energy & Environmental Finance group is the sole investor for the $350 million tax equity commitment, making this one of the largest standalone tax equity investments in recent history for the solar industry.

HSBC Bank USA, National Association (“HSBC”) structured and syndicated the credit facilities to a group of eight banks as the Sole Coordinating Lead Arranger.

“The Spotsylvania Project marks a great advancement for the industry and was actualized through strong stewardship by sPower and collaborative financing partners.  Our continued relationship and ability to add value for a market leader like sPower is a source of great pride for CRC,” said Conor McKenna, Senior Managing Director, CohnReznick Capital.

“It was a pleasure to support sPower on this milestone transaction, notable for the sheer size of the project and the market headwinds that the teams overcame to close and add such a large quantity of clean electrons onto the grid,” said Manish Hebbar, Managing Director and Deal Lead for CohnReznick Capital.

For additional details on this transaction, please contact:

Conor McKenna
Senior Managing Director
conor.mckenna@cohnreznickapital.com

Manish Hebbar
Managing Director
manish.hebbar@crc-ib.com

For the full press release, please click here.