The capital will support the continued development of DSD’s late-stage development pipeline, totaling approximately 205 megawatts (MW) across California, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Vermont, and Virginia. The pipeline also features a variety of community solar projects, which will benefit from robust state incentive programs that promote distributed renewable energy assets and help increase access to clean energy for communities that need it most.
The funding arrangement was led by Santander Corporate & Investment Banking (Santander CIB), with HSBC USA Inc. (HSBC) and Rabobank Group (Rabobank) acting as joint lead arrangers. It includes a two-year, $100 million commitment for development financing that can be used to capitalize projects that have yet to reach the construction phase, and a two-year, $40 million equipment facility allocated for bulk orders of components, such as modules, inverters and batteries.
“This deal is unique for DSD and fits well within our go-to-market channels” said Akash Patel, DSD’s Vice President of Underwriting. “It aligns with our equipment procurement strategy, allows us to get solar projects off the ground faster by providing short-term financial support before construction begins, and helps us manage capital in a manner that allows us to scale our platform more efficiently and effectively.”
The arrangement brings DSD’s total capital raised thus far in 2023 to $215 million. The assets financed by the pre-NTP credit facilities are expected to be operational between mid-2023 and early 2025.
“We’re excited to work with DSD again this time to help accelerate its expanding development activities” added Parag Patel, Executive Director, Structured Finance & Advisory at Santander CIB. “DSD’s extensive pipeline is a great opportunity for us to facilitate much-needed investments in distributed renewable generation while contributing to the growth and development of the communities it serves.”
Once the projects in the development phase receive full NTP status, they will be further financed via DSD’s construction facility with Rabobank, Santander and others that has been in place since 2020.
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