Ameresco secures US$262m towards California battery contracts and growing portfolio
Ameresco has secured a US$262 million increase to its credit facility, funding future growth and supporting the energy efficiency and renewable energy company’s 2.1 GWh battery project in California. The company said earlier this week that an amendment and restatement have been made on its senior secured credit facility, arranged with lenders led by Bank of America, taking the total credit facility size to US$495 million. This includes an increase of US$200 million in Ameresco’s revolving loan facility, an increase to an existing term loan which takes up to US$75 million and a new Delayed-Draw Term Loan A for up to US$220 million, the latter on an 18-month term.
The funds will be used for both near and long-term growth objectives, starting with Ameresco’s design-build EPC agreement for 537 MW/2,150 MWh of battery storage, signed with California investor-owned utility (IOU) Southern California Edison (SCE). In reporting its fourth-quarter and full-year financial results at the beginning of the month, Ameresco had said the contract awarded last October for the three battery storage plants to be built at SCE substations, had driven a significant rise in revenues.
In an earnings call with analysts to explain those results, CEO George Sakellaris had said that following the announcement of the project, enquiries from electricity suppliers in the US into Ameresco’s battery energy storage system (BESS) offerings had also increased. System integrator and technology provider FlexGen has been hired to supply the full BESS solutions for the three sites.
In addition to the SCE project, Ameresco said the increased credit available will be used to grow the company’s energy asset portfolio, for potential acquisition opportunities and for general corporate purposes. “This large-scale [credit] facility will provide a low cost and flexible source of capital as we continue to develop and diversify our portfolio of cleantech solutions and renewable energy projects,” Ameresco CFO and executive VP Doran Hole said.
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