Investments were dominated by debt, which accounted for ~63% of the total capital funding since the start of Oct’22. Enerdatics understands that the investments are driven by the surge in the installation of sub-utility-scale assets and community projects in the country. This is primarily due to the availability of 30% federal tax credits for these projects under the IRA for a 10-year period. Furthermore, developers can enhance the available incentives to 50% by including additional credits for projects that support low-income or underserved communities and projects that use domestically manufactured content. These incentives have improved the business case for sub-utility and community solar installations. Furthermore, the growing desire to lower electricity bills in response to rising power prices, as well as the availability of innovative programs to fund off-takers initial capital expenditures, have contributed to an increase in installations and attracted investment in the sector.
Recent deal: Nexamp has secured ~$400mn in tax equity and debt commitments from U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance and Mitsubishi UFJ Finance Group, respectively. The raised capital will support the creation of 49 solar projects, totalling 250 MWdc, with co-located battery storage systems in six states spanning the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest. These assets will enable more than 250,000 rural and underserved households to save ~$6.5mn annually on their electricity bills.
Other significant deals: Sunrun's $600mn loan led by KeyBank, SunPower's $450mn debt financing from Credit Agricole, and Navisun's $235mn credit facility from a consortium led by Wells Fargo represent the largest debt financings since the start of 2022. Meanwhile, Agilitas Energy's $350mn equity raise led by CarVal Investors, Aspen Power's $350mn capitalization by the Carlyle Group, and Electriq Power's $300mn fundraise represents the largest equity investments.
The above analysis is proprietary to Enerdatics’ energy analytics team, based on the current understanding of the available data. The information is subject to change and should not be taken to constitute professional advice or a recommendation.
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