Solar Firm Lands $210M Loan

Irvine-based solar energy company 174 Power Global Corp. is moving forward with a major project in western Texas. 

The company announced the closing of construction financing for a $210 million, 150-megawatt first phase of a solar power plant near Odessa.  

This first phase of the plant, which spans more than 1,200 acres and is comprised of more than 560,000 solar panels, will generate enough electricity to power 25,000 to 30,000 Texas homes annually with clean renewable energy, when completed in the spring of 2020, according to 174 Power Global.

174 Power Global President Henry Yun called the deal an “important milestone.”

“The ongoing commitment of our investor partners plays an essential role in enabling us to produce solar power at prices that are competitive with other forms of generation,” Yun said.

2nd in State

The plant, called Oberon, is the second solar generation facility 174 Power Global is developing in Texas. The plant is deemed to be “utility-scale,” meaning its power output can be fed into the local utility grid.

Q Cells, one of the world’s largest photovoltaic manufacturers, will supply the solar modules for the Oberon project. 

Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank and the Korea Development Bank are providing construction and term debt. J.P. Morgan Chase Bank is providing an eight-year solar hedge for a portion of the project output. Additionally, a leading tax equity investor has provided a commitment to provide tax equity for this first phase. 

Formed in 2017, 174 Power Global is wholly owned by the Hanwha Group, a large Korean industrial conglomerate whose other area investments include Lake Forest-based Karem Aircraft Inc., an aerospace development firm that was profiled by the Business Journal last month.

174 Power was ranked the No. 1 solar project development company in the U.S. for last year by Wood Mackenzie.