Danish energy company Ørsted has secured an investment of $680m in the form of tax equity financing from J.P. Morgan for a US-based portfolio of solar and storage assets.
The projects in the portfolio are the Eleven Mile Solar Center located in Pinal County, Arizona and Sparta Solar in Mineral, Texas. The former is a 300MW solar and 300MW/1200MWh storage project while the latter is a 250MW solar power project.
Ørsted said that the Eleven Mile Solar Center will get a one-time investment tax credit for its battery storage system. The Sparta Solar project, on the other hand, will generate production tax credits over a period of 10 years.
J.P. Morgan’s tax equity funding will provide the capital to complete both projects totalling 550MW of solar power and 300MW of battery energy storage with the capacity to discharge for four hours.
Ørsted plans to begin commercial operations for both projects this year.
The tax equity partnership with J.P. Morgan offers the option for tax credit transferability. It expands upon the finance company’s current investments in Ørsted’s onshore portfolio in the US, totalling 1.8GW.
Ørsted Americas chief commercial officer James Giamarino said: “Ørsted is an experienced developer and operator of renewable energy projects in the US, including offshore and onshore wind, solar, and battery storage, all of which will generate tax credits valuable to investors.
“With this new market unlocked by the IRA, we’re excited to continue our tax equity partnership with J.P. Morgan and bring on new entities looking to advance the US renewable energy industry, support job growth, and promote local economic development.”
Latham & Watkins has been engaged as legal counsel by Ørsted while Milbank is the legal counsel for J.P. Morgan.
Earlier this month, Ørsted announced the start of the first green energy production from the 253MW Gode Wind 3 offshore wind project located in Germany.
