US Just Can’t Quit Renewable Energy

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Just a few short months ago the aggressively self-absorbed Commander-in-Chief who currently occupies the White House all but declared war on the US wind and solar industries. However, he can’t stop the demand for clean power. Globally speaking, the smart money is still betting on renewable energy to dominate the US power generation profile, as testified by a new $2.5 revolving credit facility assembled for the Chicago-headquartered firm Invenergy.

The US Renewable Energy Slows But Just Won’t Die

Trump once tried, and failed, to stop an offshore wind farm in view of his golf course in Aberdeen, Scotland. He has had much more success here in the US, where the offshore wind industry depends on federal leases. Still, presidents come and go, while global investors remain for decades. They will have another crack at the US offshore wind market when he leaves office — peacefully and permanently — in about 3.75 years.

The rest of the US renewable energy industry is not going so quietly into the night. Onshore wind turbines and solar panels do not require leases on federal property. Although some state and local jurisdictions have been obstructing renewable energy development, many others are eager to attract new revenue regardless of political affiliation.

Invenergy’s project pipeline provides a good illustration of the politically neutral demand for renewable energy. Back in January Invenergy nailed down a $1.1 billion debt facility to support the construction of three utility-scale solar projects in Trump-voting states: The 240 megawatt  Cadence Solar Energy Center in Ohio, the 200-megawatt Trade Post Solar Energy Center in Indiana, and the 150 megawatt Yum Yum Solar Energy Center in Tennessee.

Invenergy expects the three projects to be operational in 2026, bringing a combined total of $390 million in taxes and local landowner lease payments to the host communities.

Everybody Loves Renewable Energy

Corporate America is also standing in the way of Trump’s fossil-friendly energy policy. Leading US businesses leveraged their collective buying power to push the market for clean power during the Obama administration, and they have not let up.

Verizon is a case in point. In February, Verizon and Invenergy entered into a 640 megawatt power purchase agreement covering four solar projects, bringing Verizon’s total procurement from the company to 1 gigawatt.

Power Magazine notes that two of the projects are already up and running, the 50-megawatt Richfield Solar project in Maryland and the 326-MWdc/250-MWac project Maple Flats project in Illinois.

The other two are Cadence Solar and the 350-megawatt Chalk Bluff project in Arkansas, scheduled for operation in 2027.

“Chalk Bluff also is contracted to provide power for technology company Meta as part of a deal announced late last year,” Power Magazine also reported. “Invenergy has agreements for more than 1 GW of power with Meta, and also has power deals with Tesla and Honda.”

Global Investors Still Love The US …

Invenergy is already known as the largest privately held clean energy firm in North America. At $2.5 billion, the newly topped-off revolving credit facility provides it with a fresh burst of flexibility to withdraw and repay funds as needed for a series of projects, accelerating the expansion of its wind, solar, and storage portfolio.

The credit upgrade also reflects continued confidence in the US demand for clean power by global investors. That includes the French firm Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking, which took up the roles of Mandated Lead Arranger, Issuing Lender, Syndication Agent, Sustainability Coordinator, Administrative Agent, and Collateral Agent for the Invenergy transaction.

“The upsized $2.5 billion Revolving Credit Facility reflects the confidence of the finance community in Invenergy’s proven execution capabilities and business model,” explains Invenergy CFO and EVP Meghan Schultz.

“As energy demand increases dramatically, this expanded financing provides flexibility to grow our business and to meet our customers’ evolving needs,” Schultz adds.

… And They Love Clean Power, Too

Invenergy’s newly expanded pot of financing also underscores the limitations of White House energy policy in the context of a global economy, where investors are eager to sniff out new opportunities regardless of passing political trends.

The Head of Global Trade for Natixis, Arnaud Stevens, explains that the $2.5 billion transaction in support of Invenergy represents “a crucial advancement in our efforts to promote clean energy solutions and underscores our collective dedication to driving innovation within the energy sector.”

Natixis does not fly solo. It is part of the leading French firm Groupe BPCE, which has the retail networks Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Epargne under its wing. Under the support of Groupe BPCE, Natixis describes itself as a “leading global financial institution that provides advisory, investment banking, financing, corporate banking and capital markets services to corporations, financial institutions, financial sponsors and sovereign and supranational organizations worldwide.”

Taking note of its operations in 30 countries, Natixis also affirms its commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050.

More Renewable Energy For The USA

The US offshore wind industry is kaput along with its supply chain, at least for the time being. However, a few bright spots of renewable energy activity remain. One of them is the wind repowering field. Many onshore wind turbines in the US are reaching the end of their useful lives and need to be replaced. In some cases the switch to new turbines can increase the capacity of the wind farm. The repowering industry is not completely immune to White House interference, but the existing, non-federal sites are already permitted for renewable energy and clawing them back will be difficult.

The community solar movement is another point of light. Community solar activity has been chugging away on all four cylinders and a new report from the Coalition for Community Solar Access indicates that US states could realize $2.8 billion in economic benefits if community solar projects were scaled up to their full potential.

Then there’s the geothermal energy industry, which somehow managed to wedge itself behind the protective shield of Trump’s “American Energy Dominance” plan. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, the former CEO of the leading oil and gas services firm Liberty Energy, might have had something to do with it, considering that Liberty became a leading investor in the up-and-coming geothermal startup Fervo Energy during his tenure there.

Geothermal energy competes mano-a-mano against the 24/7 power generation delivery touted by fossil energy producers. With newly improved heat pump technology in hand, geothermal can also take on the thermal energy tasks previously covered by fossil fuels.

It’s a mystery why Trump decided to promote geothermal energy while simultaneously promising the world to US fossil energy producers. Be that as it may, not all players in the US fossil energy industry are at risk from geothermal competition. Stakeholders in the oil and gas services field are in a different bucket. They can pack up their equipment, workforce, supply chains, and know-how, and take all that over to the geothermal industry, which is what they have been doing.

Photo (cropped): The leading US renewable energy firm Invenergy has just nailed down a $2.5 billion revolving loan of credit to facilitate its domestic clean power pipeline (courtesy of Invenergy).