Massachusetts cranberry farm celebrates agrivoltaic harvest | Projects Weekly
This week on Projects Weekly, Distributed Energy Infrastructure is celebrating the cranberry harvest at two Massachusetts-based agrivoltaics projects. Also in the Bay State, Flatiron Energy has closed on financing of a gigawatt-scale battery project in the Boston area. A solar financing spree is taking place around the U.S., with energyRe inking a deal for $815 million in South Carolina, and Arevon securing three 20-year renewable energy credit contracts in Illinois. Aligned Climate Capital has also secured financing for a community solar portfolio split between Maryland and Illinois once again, and Clearway Energy Group and PacifiCorp have signed an addition to their Utah partnership worth 210 MW in battery storage. Finally, Puget Sound Energy is working on one of the largest solar installations in the state of Montana. Keep reading for all the details!
energyRe inks $815 million solar financing deal in South Carolina
Energy infrastructure firm energyRe has closed financing on an $815 million financing package for a collection of five utility-scale projects based in South Carolina, officials announced Oct. 12.
Totaling 360 MW, the five-project portfolio’s price tag marks one of the largest solar-only financing deals in the history of the Palmetto State. The financing package is “a giant step” toward energyRe’s established goal of turning the southern state into the lynchpin of its corporate growth strategy.
“This portfolio financing is our largest to date, and it reflects the confidence our lenders have in both the quality of our assets and our team’s ability to deliver,” says energyRe CFO Pedro Pereira. “South Carolina is at the center of our growth strategy, and this closing moves us meaningfully closer to our goal of investing $2 billion in the state by 2030. These projects will create jobs during construction and operations and deliver affordable, reliable power to South Carolina homes and businesses for decades to come.”
Bright spot: energyRe has broken ground on about 450 MW of renewable energy projects in the past year, with an additional 700 MW either in operation or in late-stage development. The company sports a total portfolio of more than 1.8 GW, which spans 20 projects across the Carolinas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma.
In total, energyRe has raised more than $1.9 billion in support of its solar portfolio since its founding.
“This financing secures the capital to advance these projects and demonstrates energyRe’s ability to finance its development portfolio at scale,” says Surya Mohan, SVP of M&A and capital markets at energyRe. “I’m proud of our M&A and Capital Markets team for leading this transaction, and grateful to our lenders, tax equity partner, advisors and colleagues across energyRe for the work that brought it together.”
Clearway and PacifiCorp add onto partnership with 210 MW BESS project in Utah
Renewable energy project developer Clearway Energy Group and electrical utility PacifiCorp have expanded their partnership, signing a deal for an extra 210 MW battery storage addition to Clearway’s Honeycomb Energy Center.
Located in southern Utah, the new storage capacity will help the Beehive State balance its electrical grid for supply and demand. The energy center’s $400 million price tag will see funding from a consortium of major banks which will invest in the project upon commercial operation, including U.S. Bank and NordLB.
“We’re proud to expand our Honeycomb storage portfolio in partnership with PacifiCorp to support Utah’s growing economy,” says Valerie Wooley, SVP of origination at Clearway. “This new energy storage infrastructure will help ensure grid and cost resiliency as power demand grows in the region.”
Bright spot: The new energy contract with Pacificorp will enable three new energy storage facilities to advance Honeycomb’s “second phase,” Clearway says. In total, the new project will push Clearway’s Utah-based storage fleet to seven systems, capable of deploying 2.1 GWh.
“Clearway Energy has become an important part of Beaver County’s growing energy economy, bringing investment, jobs, and new revenue that benefits our communities and residents,” says Matt Sterzer, the economic development manager of Beaver County, Utah.
Arevon locks in three 20-year renewable energy credit contracts in Illinois
Arevon Energy is advancing its efforts in the Land of Lincoln, securing three 20-year Indexed Renewable Energy Credit (REC) contracts for its 275 MWdc Panther Energy Project in southern Illinois.
The agreements with Ameren Illinois, ComEd, and MidAmerican Energy will support the Midwestern state’s energy transition efforts, as well as the Panther project. Arevon expects to begin construction on the project in 2027, with commercial operations planned for 2028.
“Arevon is proud to work with Ameren Illinois, ComEd, and MidAmerican through the IPA procurement to move Panther Energy closer to construction and contribute to Illinois’s energy goals,” says Arevon CCO Tommy Greer. “We appreciate the collaboration of Perry County residents, landowners, and local officials throughout the project’s development.
“We look forward to delivering reliable, homegrown energy to the grid while creating jobs, generating long-term economic benefits, and investing in the local community.”
Bright spot: Arevon is actively growing its portfolio in the Midwest region of the U.S., with the Panther Energy Project expected to create 200 jobs during construction. Once operational, the firm expects the Panther project to generate enough electricity to power 37,000 Illinoisan homes each year.
Arevon has also established a local office in Pinckneyville, Illinois, allowing landowners, residents, and other community members direct access to the project development team.
DEI celebrates cranberry harvest at Massachusetts agrivoltaics projects
Utility-scale EPC provider Distributed Energy Infrastructure (DEI) is celebrating a successful harvest at two cranberry agrivoltaics projects in Massachusetts.
Owned by developer Greenbacker Renewables, the two projects are the first of their kind, DEI says. The North Carolinian firm says the projects are “a milestone for expanding agrivoltaic applications into challenging wetland environments.”
“Building solar projects over active perennial wetland crops was an exciting challenge, and we’re thrilled to see the success of these harvests,” says Prateek Tare, EVP and co-founder of DEI. “Iain’s collaboration and input at every stage was essential for us to ensure a reliable, cost-effective build while safeguarding the productivity of these heritage bogs.”
Bright spot: The two projects — Black Cat Agrivoltaics in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and Ring Road Agrivoltaics in Kingston, Massachusetts — come in at 1 MW and 4.4 MW respectively. Ring Road also comes equipped with a 13.5 MWh battery system, and Black Cat has an installed energy capacity of 2.7 MWh.
“The DEI team was phenomenal at understanding and adapting solar construction so that energy production could coexist without damage to the perennial cropping system,” says Massachusetts-based cranberry farmer Iain Ward. “These projects prove that with the right approach, dual-use solar can be applied to a wide variety of agricultural environments.
“If we can build over such challenging wetland areas and have successful harvests, we can build almost anywhere.”
Flatiron Energy closes on Boston-based battery project
Flatiron Energy has closed on approximately $850 million in financing commitments for its Energizar Project, located in Chelsea, Massachusetts.
Bright spot: At 1.2 GWh of battery storage, Energizar will be the largest battery energy storage system (BESS) asset on the East Coast of the U.S. once complete. That wattage is also enough to make Energizar one of the largest urban BESS facilities on the planet, as it provides “critical capacity” and energy resources for the city of Boston’s power grid.
“Energizar represents the culmination of years of work by many stakeholders. Projects of this complexity and scale only happen because of the support of the local community, policy makers, equipment and EPC providers, offtakers, and financing counterparties,” says Flatiron CFO Dan Myers. “We are incredibly grateful for such robust support and proud to contribute to the next phase of the region’s grid reliability and capacity resources.”
Flatiron expects Energizar to reach full commercial operation by Q4 2027, providing peaking energy resources for a Northeast grid that continues to undergo record levels of strain.
“Battery storage assets are playing an increasingly critical role in supporting grid stability and facilitating the integration of energy resources across the United States,” says Santander managing director Andrew Platt. “We are proud to have supported the successful financing of Energizar, an important milestone for the ISO New England market that will contribute to a more reliable and resilient power system.”
Aligned Climate Capital secures financing for community solar portfolio
Renewable energy investment firm Aligned Climate Capital has closed on $387 million in construction-to-permanent financing for a community solar portfolio spanning 20 projects in Illinois and Maryland.
Led by Apterra Infrastructure Capital, the financing will support a 126 MW portfolio in total, according to Aligned Climate Capital officials. The lion’s share of the portfolio will be comprised of projects across Illinois, with 18 sites and 115 MWdc going to the Prairie State. The other two sites, good for 11 MWdc, will go to Maryland.
“We’re seeing an important shift in distributed energy,” says Aligned Climate Capital CEO Peter Davidson. “Individual projects may be too small for traditional infrastructure investors. But when you bring those projects together into a larger portfolio, you can attract institutional financing that would otherwise be difficult to access. That helps move more projects from development into operation.”
Bright spot: The two Maryland-based projects will participate in the state’s Community Solar Energy Generating Systems program, officials say. The program reserves “at least 40%” of each project’s capacity for low- and moderate-incoming community solar subscribers.
“Community solar is an important and fast-growing part of the distributed generation market, and this portfolio benefits from scale, contracted revenue, and experienced sponsorship,” says Apterra co-CEO Ralph Cho. “We are pleased to lead this facility for Aligned as it brings these projects online across Illinois and Maryland.”
Puget Sound Energy announces development of new project in Montana
Puget Sound Energy (PSE) has broken ground on the Battle Butte Solar Project, a new 130 MW solar facility in southern central Montana.
Located near the small town of Rapelje, the project will be one of the largest solar installations in Montana once complete. Strategically located to leverage existing grid interconnection infrastructure, the project will generate enough energy to power 20,000 homes every year, PSE representatives say.
“Battle Butte solar represents a critical component of our clean energy strategy,” says Craig Pospisil, SVP and chief development officer of PSE. “This project will give us the opportunity to build upon the positive relationships we’ve forged with our neighbors in Stillwater County through the development of the Beaver Creek Wind facility and it positions PSE to meet our customers’ growing clean energy needs.”
Bright spot: PSE has already eliminated coal from its energy portfolio, going renewables-forward at the end of 2025. The company has also added 22 long-term renewable energy projects totaling 4 GW since the state of Washington passed the Clean Energy Transformation Act in 2019.
The new project’s construction will create about 250 jobs in the Treasure State, representatives say. Additionally, PSE anticipates an ongoing need for a few on-site staffers once operations commence. Both of these, the company adds, will help the project generate benefits through project spending, impact fees, and property taxes for the region.
“We look forward to Battle Butte bringing construction jobs, tax revenue and new economic activity to Stillwater County while adding another important piece to Montana’s all-of-the-above energy portfolio,” says Stillwater County Commissioner Roger Webb. “Throughout the process of developing both Beaver Creek and Battle Butte, PSE has shown a commitment to working with our county and investing in Montana while being a good neighbor – we look forward to the ongoing partnership.”
