Power Technology

Daily Newsletter

10 August 2023

Daily Newsletter

Swift Current receives $779m for 800MW Illinois solar project

The project will generate enough clean energy for 100,000 homes and offset a million tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually.

Swift Current Energy, a Massachusetts-based utility, has received $779m in project financing for its 800MWdc (593MWac) Double Black Diamond solar project near Springfield, Illinois, US.

The financing was provided by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Société Générale and Truist. The package includes $695m in construction and tax equity bridge loans and an $84m letter of credit facility.

ING served as the green loan structuring agent while Wilmington Trust was the transaction's collateral and depositary agent.

Swift Current Energy CEO and co-founder Eric Lammers said: “Since we began the development of the project in 2018, the Swift Current team has felt a deep sense of conviction for Double Black Diamond Solar. I am delighted today to reach this record-setting milestone and recognise my team and our construction and financing partners’ dedication to this project.”

The Double Black Diamond solar project will generate enough power to meet the needs of 100,000 homes while offsetting a million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

Swift Current chose McCarthy Building Companies as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the project in March 2023. The solar panels and trackers for the project are being supplied by First Solar and Nextracker.

This project will be powered by 1.6 million solar panels, most of which are expected to be produced in the US.

The construction phase will create 450 local jobs. Site work began in March 2023, with the project expected to begin operations by autumn 2024.

It could generate $100m in tax revenue for Sangamon and Morgan counties during its operational life.

Constellation Energy agreed to purchase a portion of the energy along with the renewable energy certificates generated from the project.

Swift Current and Constellation collaborated to supply energy to the city of Chicago, Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Cook County Illinois, CVS Health, Loyola University of Chicago, Midway International Airport, PPG, State Farm and TransUnion.

ESG 2.0 marks a shift towards stricter environmental rules

ESG is moving into a different era, which we call ESG 2.0. While ESG 1.0 was driven by voluntary corporate action, spurred by pressure from activist consumers and investors, ESG 2.0 is being driven by a new wave of government policies. The EU has taken the regulatory lead, with rules introduced or in the pipeline that will price emissions, regulate the use of the terms ‘ESG’ and ‘sustainability’ in marketing materials, and make ESG reporting mandatory. The US has taken a different approach, favoring less regulation and more financial support in the form of tax breaks for clean industry (renewables plus nuclear and hydrogen). China is planning to expand its emissions trading system to more sectors, decarbonize its heavy industry, and ramp up its use of renewables. The new policy direction is mainly motivated by the ambition to hit net zero emissions targets. But on top of this, governments are now competing for clean industry and trying to challenge China’s leadership on the production of the world’s green technologies such as solar panels and batteries, as well as the production and refinement of materials needed for energy transition such as lithium. These driving forces are leading to policy that will impact every sector, not just heavy industry, and will keep ESG near the top of the regulatory agenda over the longer term.