Avantus Doubles Its Corporate Credit Line to $1.05 Billion to Back a 24 GW Solar and 44 GWh Storage Pipeline
- Energy Storage News Solar + Storage Integration
Marin Holt
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- 7 minutes read
- Facility size: $1.05 billion
- Prior facility: $522 million (July 2024)
- Development pipeline: 24 GW, 13 GW solar and 44 GWh storage
- 2026 COD target: 788 MW
Avantus closed a $1.05 billion upsized corporate credit facility on August 3, roughly double the $522 million line the developer put in place in July 2024. The money backs a 24 GW development pipeline in California and the Desert Southwest that pairs 13 GW of solar with 44 GWh of battery storage. Eleven banks joined. SMBC is administrative agent, collateral agent and lead arranger.
ING Capital, HSBC, KKR and Truist Securities extended or increased earlier commitments. Six lenders are new to the credit: BHI, CIBC, KeyBanc Capital Markets, Mizuho, National Bank of Canada Capital Markets and Natixis. Avantus used the name 8minuteenergy Renewables until a 2022 rebrand. KKR took a majority stake in 2024, alongside EIG.
“This upsized facility provides Avantus with the flexibility to advance our pipeline of high-quality solar and storage assets, moving projects swiftly from development into construction and operations,” said Omar Karar, executive vice president for capital markets.
What the facility actually funds
A corporate credit facility is not project debt. It funds the work before a project reaches financial close: land control, interconnection deposits, permitting and early equipment orders. Avantus raised project-level money separately this year. Aratina 2 drew more than $525 million in construction financing in July.
The company has three reference points in California. Aratina 1, a 200 MW solar and 500 MWh storage project in Kern County, reached commercial operation in July 2026. Aratina 2 sits next to it. Rexford 2 in Tulare County pairs 200 MW of solar with 800 MWh of storage under a 20-year power purchase agreement. Avantus targets 788 MW entering commercial operation in 2026 and 800 MW under construction by year end.
Why It Matters
Compare the pipeline against the build rate and the gap is the story. A 24 GW pipeline against 788 MW of commercial operation this year is a ratio near 30 to 1. Pipelines are gross development inventory, not a forecast. Sites drop out on interconnection queue position, offtake pricing and permits, and the survivors take four to seven years.
For buyers, the useful signal is not the headline number. It is that eleven lenders underwrote a California and Desert Southwest storage book at this size, and that six of them are new to the credit. That prices the risk of co-located solar and storage in CAISO territory better than any pipeline slide does. It also lets the developer hold land and queue positions longer without a signed offtake. Anyone shopping four-hour capacity in the region negotiates against that.
The 44 GWh figure deserves a caveat. Avantus reports it as storage attached to the 13 GW solar portfolio, not as standalone capacity under contract. Only Rexford 2 carries a named 20-year PPA in disclosures from the company.
Critical Perspective
Avantus reports a 24 GW pipeline and 788 MW of capacity actually reaching commercial operation this year. Lenders underwrote the gap, not the delivery. KKR holds a majority stake with EIG alongside it, so a $1.05 billion revolver also buys time for sponsors who eventually need an exit. Nothing in the disclosure ties the facility to a specific megawatt. If only Rexford 2 carries a named 20-year PPA, what happens to the rest of the 44 GWh when CAISO’s four-hour capacity need gets filled by whoever signs first?
Sources
- Business Wire (2026-08-03)
- pv magazine USA (2026-08-03)
- ESS News (2026-08-04)
- Energy-Storage.News (2026-08-10)
- PV Tech (2026-08-04)
