Green Investment Group completes Debt Financing of California Battery Storage Project

Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG), the specialist green energy project developer and investor, today announced the closing of debt financing on an innovative battery-based energy storage project in Southern California. It is the project’s third debt financing and will fund the completion of its construction.

The financing announced today funds construction of an additional 97 MWh portfolio and, once fully constructed, will complete a 63 MW / 340 MWh project for Southern California Edison (SCE) of behind-the-meter, battery storage systems located in grid-constrained pockets of the West Los Angeles Basin service territory. CIT Group, which led the initial financing through its Power and Energy Finance unit, was also the lead lender in the second financing in December and this financing, which was joined by Rabobank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and ING.

Macquarie acquired the original portfolio from AMS in August 2016 and together Macquarie and AMS have been jointly developing and constructing it. The project’s first debt financing in 2017 was a first-of-its kind non-recourse project financing of distributed battery-based energy storage systems.

"Lenders have recognized the unique nature of this innovative project, along with its commercial potential and we are pleased to secure this final round of financing. 

CIT has been a great financial partner throughout, along with Rabobank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, which were part of the previous debt financing, and we are thrilled to add ING as a lender."

Chris Archer
Head of Green Energy Americas

The fleet of energy storage systems, which are located at various large-load commercial, industrial and government host sites in Los Angeles and Orange counties, will be used for utility grid services including flexible and reserve capacity, solar integration and voltage management in addition to retail energy services such as demand management, back up generation and enhanced power quality.

"One of the biggest challenges facing renewable power is the lack of capacity to store clean energy until it’s needed most.

We were pleased to serve as lead arranger on financing that significantly advances the grid-connected battery storage infrastructure in Southern California. CIT’s financing of this landmark project is another example of our ongoing commitment to supporting innovation and sustainable solutions in the energy sector."

Mike Lorusso
Managing Director and Group Head of CIT’s Power and Energy unit

Last week, AMS announced that its virtual powerplant project in Southern California delivered over 2 GWh of grid services to the California Independent System Operator in its first year of operation. In June, Irvine Ranch Water District and Macquarie announced completion of the nation’s largest energy storage system being used for on-site power – a 2.5 MW/15MWh installation now powering the District’s largest water recycling plant.