Financing for a 145 MW Panorama wind farm in the state of Colorado has been secured as announced by Leeward Renewable Energy LLC. The independent power company announced that it had closed construction financing and secured tax equity commitments with Japan’s MUFG Bank Ltd, which served as the coordinating lead arranger and administrative agent for the approximately US$190 million, which included a construction loan, tax equity bridge loan, and back leverage term loan commitment. According to a news statement from Leeward Renewable Energy, the loan group included National Australia Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, and Helaba Group, while Goldman Sachs offered a USD-135-million tax equity pledge.
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Panorama is a greenfield project created by Leeward in Weld Area, Colorado, the same county where the company’s Cedar Creek and Mountain Breeze wind farms are located. Vestas-American Wind Technology will supply 66 wind turbines for the new project. Panorama’s construction, which is currently underway, is slated to be completed in the second quarter of 2022, according to Leeward. The Panorama wind farm, if operational, will sell its production to Colorado-based Guzman Energy under a power purchase agreement (PPA).
Funding on the Panorama Wind Farm Colorado
“We are thrilled to announce the completion of funding for the Panorama project with a number of new financial ties led by MUFG Bank.” “With their help, we are well-positioned to complete Panorama with the most advanced and efficient technologies, bringing our total generation capacity in Weld County to 617MW and assisting Colorado in meeting its goal of 100 percent green energy generation by 2040,” said Chris Loehr, Leeward’s chief financial officer.
“We appreciate the chance to assist Leeward’s efforts and facilitate the shift to sustainable energy sources as part of our commitment to renewable energy financing,” says Beth Waters, managing director of project finance at MUFG. “Goldman investments like this allow our sponsor clients like Leeward to leverage all of the incentive benefits available to them to finance wind projects,” says Vivek Kagzi of Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s Sustainable Investing Group.
