Longroad reaches financial close on solar project with 1,200MWh of storage

US-based renewable energy developer Longroad Energy has confirmed the financial close and start of construction of Sun Streams 4, a 377 MWdc PV and 300 MWac / 1,200 MWh storage project in Maricopa County, Arizona.

Debt financing was led by CIBC and included ANZ, PNC, BNP Paribas, Commerzbank AG, CoBank, U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance, National Australia Bank, and Société Générale. CIBC acted as coordinating lead arranger, administrative agent, and collateral agent, and ANZ served as joint lead arranger and green loan coordinator. U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance served as joint lead arranger and depositary bank.

Commercial operations for Sun Streams 4 are expected to begin by mid-2025.

Sun Stream 4’s total output, enough to power 120,000 homes, will be purchased by Arizona Public Service (APS) via a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA).

First Solar will supply Longroad with its Series 6 Plus solar modules for Sun Streams 4.

During the construction period, Sun Streams 4 is expected to employ over 200 people. McCarthy Building Companies (McCarthy), whose Renewable Energy team is based in Phoenix, Arizona, was selected as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor on the project.

“Longroad continues to make significant strides with our flagship Sun Streams portfolio in the important Arizona market,” said Paul Gaynor, CEO of Longroad Energy. “A landmark project for us, Sun Streams 4 has the distinction of being Longroad’s largest project to date by both megawatts and investment capital, and one of our first projects to incorporate provisions from the historic Inflation Reduction Act.”

US Bancorp Impact Finance chief investment and product officer Sunil Rajpurohit said the financing “leverages our environmental finance platform by providing a comprehensive suite of products including both tax equity and debt to accelerate the broader efforts supporting the transition to a greener economy”.

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