Copia Power, a Carlyle Portfolio Company, Closes $1.24 billion construction loan for Centennial Flats

Copia Power closes debt facility for Arizona solar and storage project

Dana Point, CA and Washington, DC – Copia Power (Copia) today announced it has executed a $1.24 billion debt facility to fund the construction of its Centennial Flats Project. The facility consists of a construction-to-term loan, a transfer bridge-to-tax equity bridge loan and letters of credit.

 The Centennial Flats project is located in La Paz County, AZ, about 75 miles west of Phoenix, and consists of 500 MW of solar generating capacity and 1,069 MWh of battery energy storage capacity. The project is being constructed in three phases with expected completion dates throughout 2026. Copia acquired the project in 2022 and will remain the long-term owner and operator of the project.

“Centennial Flats reflects Copia’s disciplined approach to building large-scale energy campuses in our core markets. This focus continues to unlock bilateral acquisition opportunities and enables us to offer speed, execution certainty and value to our partners, customers, landowners, and other stakeholders,” said Arthur Sonnenfeld, Managing Director and Head of Business Development for Copia. “Through the efforts of Copia’s development team and multiple successful acquisitions, we are steadily increasing our contracted and in-construction pipeline in the Southwest, and we look forward to continued growth.” The Centennial Flats project is expected to create over 400 jobs during construction.     

This financing, which was executed by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Crédit Agricole CIB, KeyBanc Capital Markets, Natixis CIB, and Wells Fargo as Coordinating Lead Arrangers, will provide over $1.24 billion in funding to support the construction and operations of the Centennial Flats Project.  The financing is structured with a non-recourse tax credit transfer/ term takeout, rather than the more traditional tax equity/ term takeout.  This construct provides the projects with the ability to optimize the monetization of tax benefits, as well as long-term capital structure flexibility.

“We are proud to have executed yet another large transaction so quickly,” said Dan Murphy, Copia’s Managing Director and Head of Capital Markets. “Closing on our second consecutive $1BN+ financing within the last year is a huge achievement and proves that we are executing serially at material scale. We are grateful to our sponsor, Carlyle, and our partner banks here for their ongoing support.”

“CIBC is thrilled to continue its support of Copia as Administration Agent, Syndication Agent and Coordinating Lead Arranger on the financing of Centennial Flats,” said Ines Serrao, MD and Head of US Renewables at CIBC. “As a leader in North America project finance and renewable energy financing, this is another example of our commitment to helping our clients achieve their growth and sustainability ambitions.”

“Successfully closing Copia’s second landmark solar PV and battery storage project financing in Arizona is a testament to Copia’s and Crédit Agricole CIB’s dedication and expertise in delivering tailored financial solutions supporting the energy transition in the US,” said Daniel Feigin, Head of Energy & Infrastructure Group North America Crédit Agricole CIB.

“Completing the billion-dollar Centennial Flats financing is a significant milestone that underscores the momentum of renewable energy initiatives in the Southwest and reflect Copia’s and KeyBanc Capital Market’s commitment to advancing innovative solutions and sustainable growth in the energy sector,” said Nadav Hazan, Vice President, KeyBanc Capital Markets, Utilities, Power & Renewable Energy Group. 

“We’re thankful to Copia for entrusting us as the Documentation Agent in addition to our Coordinating Lead Arranger and Syndication Agent roles for this financing, our third with Copia over the last 12 months” said Bhuvan Jain, Executive Director at Natixis CIB. “Copia’s ability to execute these large financings with scale and speed is a testament to their talented teams and high-quality assets.”

“Wells Fargo is proud to be a part of the Centennial Flats financing, a solar and battery storage project that will help Copia accelerate its strategy to transition to a lower carbon economy,” said Yann Blindert, MD, Renewables and Asset Finance, Corporate & Investment Banking at Wells Fargo.

Stoel Rives LLP served as the lead Borrower’s counsel on the deal, with Snell & Wilmer and Holland & Hart LLP serving as local counsel.  Milbank LLP served as CLA’s counsel.  

CRC-IB and Carlyle Capital Markets served as Copia’s advisors.

About Copia Power

Copia Power is an energy transition company committed to developing, constructing, and owning large-scale infrastructure assets in the U.S. to accelerate decarbonization in all areas of our economy. Copia Power is actively developing more than 17 GW of US solar and energy storage projects across CAISO, WECC and PJM. Copia Power is backed by Carlyle. Copia was formed by Carlyle in March 2021 to bring high value-add renewable development expertise and execution capabilities under a single platform in the U.S.

About Carlyle

Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across three business segments: Global Private Equity, Global Credit and Global Investment Solutions. With $447 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2024, Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies and the communities in which we live and invest. Carlyle employs more than 2,300 people in 29 offices across four continents. Further information is available at www.carlyle.com. Follow Carlyle on X @OneCarlyle and LinkedIn at The Carlyle Group.

Contacts: 

Copia Power  
Katie Heath 
katie.heath@copiapower.com 

Carlyle  
Brittany Berliner 
+1 (212) 813-4839 
brittany.berliner@carlyle.com 

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