Calibrant Energy Secures $145 Million Debt Facility for Solar and Data Center Storage
- Debt facility: $145 million
- Lead lender: Investec
- PJM data center battery: 120MWh
- Battery storage portfolio: 5.9 GWh
- Announced: Nov. 10
Calibrant Energy closed a $145 million debt facility to finance solar and battery storage projects across several U.S. power markets. The deal was announced on Nov. 10. Financial services company Investec led the facility. Citi, Liberty Bank and Siemens Financial Services also participated.
The supported project portfolio includes a 120MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) serving a hyperscale data center customer in PJM. The facility will recapitalize Calibrant’s operating assets and fund new solar and battery storage projects, BESS News reported.
Boston-based Calibrant runs an energy-as-a-service platform. It provides on-site energy infrastructure for large electricity consumers. The company develops, owns and operates the assets itself. Customers get turnkey installations without making upfront capital investments.
Calibrant reported that its battery storage portfolio now exceeds 5.9 GWh. That total covers projects already operating, facilities under construction and capacity under exclusive development agreements. The development portfolio also includes additional sites tied to the same hyperscale data center customer.
Data center operator Aligned praised its project with Calibrant when it was first announced. Aligned called it a “first-of-its-kind” project. It said the project “will be the first time in the US that a battery system is purpose-built to accelerate interconnection and bring a large-scale data centre online.”
Fred Petit, Co-Head of Energy & Infrastructure North America at Investec, said the bank was pleased to support Calibrant and Macquarie through the transaction.
Calibrant Chief Executive Officer Phil Martin said data center operators are increasingly choosing on-site energy storage to access reliable electricity while managing their interaction with the grid. According to the company, operators want faster access to power as PJM and federal regulators address grid connection requirements for large electricity users.
Why It Matters
The financing puts lender money behind batteries built to help large loads connect to the grid sooner. Calibrant stated that the operating flexibility of on-site storage supports faster interconnection timelines. The company said that flexibility also reduces the need for costly grid infrastructure upgrades. Those upgrade costs could otherwise be passed on to other ratepayers. The facility also funds solar alongside storage, so it covers both generation and batteries across several U.S. power markets. More sites for the same hyperscale customer sit in Calibrant’s development portfolio, so the PJM project is unlikely to be its last for that buyer.
Critical Perspective
Investec led a $145 million debt facility to finance Calibrant projects across several regional power markets. Calibrant reported that its battery storage portfolio now exceeds 5.9 GWh, yet that total blends completed installations with unbuilt capacity under exclusive development agreements. While Calibrant argues that on-site batteries reduce the need for expensive grid infrastructure upgrades, the financing recapitalizes existing operating assets instead of directing all capital toward new data center storage. How much of this facility will actually fund new storage capacity rather than refinancing Calibrant’s existing operating portfolio?
