Enlight Closes $2.6 Billion Financing for 1.2 GW CO Bar Solar-and-Storage Complex in Arizona
- Energy Storage News Solar + Storage Integration
Marin Holt
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- 5 minutes read
- Debt financing: $2.6 billion (seven-bank consortium)
- Solar capacity: 1.2 GW across five projects
- Storage capacity: 4.0 GWh
- Total investment: $2.9-3.05 billion
- Offtakers: Salt River Project & Arizona Public Service (20-year PPAs)
Enlight Renewable Energy has reached financial close on roughly $2.6 billion in debt financing for its CO Bar Complex in Arizona, the largest project in the company’s history and one of the biggest solar-and-storage clusters financed in the United States this year. Announced June 25, 2026, the close covers five projects totaling about 1.2 GW of solar generation and 4.0 GWh of battery storage, all contracted under 20-year agreements with Salt River Project and Arizona Public Service.
The debt was committed by a consortium of seven global banks: BNP Paribas Securities, Crédit Agricole CIB, MUFG Bank, Natixis New York Branch, Norddeutsche Landesbank New York Branch, Société Générale and Wells Fargo Securities. The financing structure includes $1.71 billion of term debt plus an estimated $1.45 billion to $1.53 billion of tax-equity proceeds. Total investment in the complex is expected to land between $2.9 billion and $3.05 billion.
CO Bar breaks into five projects: CO Bar 1, 2 and 3 are solar generation, while CO Bar 4 and 5 are the energy-storage sites. Construction on the first three is fully mobilized, and Enlight expects the two storage projects to be fully mobilized in the second half of 2026. Every megawatt is already subscribed through five offtake agreements, comprising 20-year busbar solar power-purchase agreements and separate storage agreements with Salt River Project and Arizona Public Service.
Why It Matters
Arizona is one of the three states absorbing the most new grid-scale storage in 2026, and the CO Bar close shows how developers are packaging solar and multi-hour batteries into a single financed complex rather than standalone assets. Locking $2.6 billion of bank debt against 20-year utility contracts, before the storage sites are even fully mobilized, signals that lenders remain willing to underwrite large solar-plus-storage build-outs tied to investment-grade offtakers such as Salt River Project and Arizona Public Service, both of which face fast-rising summer peaks and data-center load.
Critical Perspective
Enlight locked $2.6 billion of bank debt against 1.2 GW of solar and 4.0 GWh of storage, yet its two battery projects, CO Bar 4 and 5, will not be fully mobilized until the second half of 2026. Financing close is not construction close, and even a developer the size of NextEra Energy has watched storage timelines slip as battery supply and interconnection studies drag. Nevada’s Gemini Solar-plus-Storage complex, at a comparable scale, spent years in permitting and construction delays before reaching full operation, a reminder that a signed 20-year contract does not guarantee an on-time megawatt. With every megawatt already subscribed to Salt River Project and Arizona Public Service, who absorbs the cost if the 4.0 GWh of batteries slips late into Arizona’s fast-rising summer peak?
Sources
- Enlight Renewable Energy: financial-close announcement (GlobeNewswire, June 25, 2026)
- pv magazine USA: Enlight raises $2.6 billion for CO Bar solar and BESS complex
- Energy-Storage.news: CO Bar financial close
- Mercom Capital Group: Enlight secures $2.6 billion for Arizona complex
