IPX Power, the utility-scale clean energy developer spun out of Intersect Power following Google’s $4.75 billion acquisition of that company earlier in 2026, has secured $4.95 billion in project financing to fund construction and operation of the Darden Clean Energy Project in California’s Central Valley. The project, located on approximately 9,500 acres of privately owned retired agricultural land in western Fresno County, will deliver up to 1.15 GWac of solar generation capacity paired with 4.6 GWh of battery energy storage. When complete, it is expected to rank as the largest battery energy storage system in the world. The California Energy Commission approved the project under its streamlined Opt-In Certification program and designated it a critical step toward the state’s mandate of 100% zero-carbon retail electricity by 2045. Commercial operation is targeted for 2028. The $4.95 billion financing package is structured across a construction loan converting to a $1.83 billion term loan at completion, a $1.81 billion tax equity bridge loan, a $1.83 billion tax credit transfer bridge loan, a $403 million letter of credit facility, $929 million in aggregate tax equity commitments, and tax credit purchase agreements covering $2.13 billion in investment tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act.

The Central Valley’s Clean Energy Pivot and What Darden Signals for the Sector

The Darden project sits within California’s Westlands Water District, where chronic drought and water scarcity have rendered large tracts of historically productive farmland unworkable. State agencies have designated much of this corridor as the Westlands Competitive Renewable Energy Zone, reflecting its solar development potential. Darden is not alone in transforming this landscape. The Westlands Solar Park, a 2.27 GW multistage development covering roughly 20,000 acres in the district’s southern reaches, represents a comparable effort to repurpose fallowed land into grid-scale generation. Taken together, these projects signal a broader strategic pivot in California’s Central Valley, one where agricultural distress and clean energy ambition are increasingly converging. The scale of Darden’s financing structure is notable even by utility-scale standards, combining construction debt, tax equity, and tax credit transfers in a single transaction at a size J.P. Morgan described as unprecedented for this financing model. For developers and lenders watching the IRA tax credit transfer market mature, Darden is emerging as a benchmark deal for how complex, multi-gigawatt renewable projects can be capitalised in the post-IRA landscape. Community benefit commitments, including a $15 million contribution toward local infrastructure and $5 million in direct community investments over the project’s lifetime, add a social dimension that regulators and financiers are increasingly treating as standard practice for projects of this scale. The wider buildout of solar-plus-storage infrastructure across California is also accelerating in parallel through developments such as the Slate Project, a 300 MW solar and 561 MW battery storage facility that further demonstrates how developers are increasingly pairing utility-scale generation with large-scale storage to stabilise grid performance and capture peak-demand value in the state’s rapidly evolving energy market.

Project Fact Sheet

• Project Name: Darden Clean Energy Project
• Location: Western Fresno County, California, USA (Westlands Water District)
• Project Value: US$4.95 billion (construction and operation financing)
• Client/Owner: IPX Power (spinoff of Intersect Power)
• Solar Capacity: 1.15 GWac / 1.6 GWp (approximately 3.1 million solar panels)
• Battery Energy Storage: 4.6 GWh (expected to be largest BESS system in the world)
• Site Area: Approximately 9,500 acres of retired agricultural land
• Grid Connection: Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) Los Banos-Midway No. 2 500 kV transmission line via a new 15-mile 500 kV generation intertie
• Permitting: Approved under California Energy Commission Opt-In Certification program
• Expected Commercial Operation: 2028
• Community Investment: US$15 million in local infrastructure commitments; US$5 million in direct community benefits over project lifetime
• Strategic Impact: Central to California’s 100% zero-carbon electricity mandate by 2045; largest BESS project in the world upon completion

Project Team

• Client / Owner: IPX Power
• Original Developer: Intersect Power (IP Darden I, LLC)
• Project Company: IP Darden I, LLC and Affiliates
• Permitting Authority: California Energy Commission
• Grid Operator: Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)
• Initial Coordinating Lead Arrangers and Joint Bookrunners: MUFG Bank, Banco Santander, Crédit Agricole CIB, Deutsche Bank, Societe Generale
• Coordinating Lead Arrangers: BNP Paribas, CIBC Capital Markets, CoBank ACB, HSBC Bank USA, Intesa Sanpaolo, J.P. Morgan, National Bank of Canada, NORD/LB, Royal Bank of Canada, Standard Chartered, Truist Securities, Wells Fargo Securities, Westpac Banking Corporation
• Joint Lead Arranger: KeyBanc Capital Markets
• Tax Equity and ITC Purchase: J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley