Fern Solar Project : BayWa r.e. secures financing for 133MW solar farm in North Carolina

German renewable energy company BayWa r.e. has gained tax equity and construction financing for its 133.6MW Fern Solar Project in North Carolina as per the latest US solar industry news.

While RBC Capital Markets syndicated a tax equity investment commitment in the solar project, a lender group made up of Rabobank and Banco Sabadell has committed to cover construction and term financing.

Greg Hutton – Head of Project Finance Americas at Rabobank, said: “We are very excited to partner with BayWa on their first construction and term financing for a large-scale solar project in the United States. This is a landmark transaction in many ways and fits perfectly with Rabobank’s commitment to supporting the energy transition in North America.”

Construction of the Fern solar farm in Edgecombe County is already in progress and is slated to be wrapped up in the summer of this year, with full commissioning expected to take place in the latter half of 2020.

To be powered by 353,276 solar panels and 42 inverters, the Fern Solar Project will generate enough electricity for almost 20,000 homes.

Construction in progress at the Fern Solar Project in North Carolina by BayWa r.e. Photo courtesy of BayWa r.e. USA LLC.

The new solar project in North Carolina is underpinned by a virtual power purchase agreement (vPPA), which has been facilitated by LevelTen Energy. The VPPA will see the Fern solar farm supply a total of 42.5MW to Bloomberg, Cox Enterprises, Gap, Salesforce, and Workday.

Last year, coffee shop chain Starbucks signed a vPPA with BayWa r.e. to take 46MW of the power generated by the solar project in North Carolina.

Commenting on securing the financing for the Fern Solar Project, Jam Attari – CEO of BayWa r.e. Solar Projects, said: “Our success in securing tax equity and project financing for this landmark project demonstrates our ability to continue to attract investors to the fundamental value proposition of renewable energy.

“It is great to see the next stage of this pioneering project unlocked. Once generating power, it will be providing green energy for six major US companies through a market-first multi-party VPPA.”