Lightsource bp closes financing on 135 MW Conway Solar project in Arkansas

Lightsource bp has closed on a US$533 million multi-project financing package and will soon mobilize construction on its 135 megawatts (dc) Conway Solar project located near Happy, Arkansas, approximately 55 miles northeast of Little Rock.

Lightsource bp will build, own and operate the facility and deliver the clean, renewable energy it generates to Conway Corp under a long-term power purchase agreement for their customers in the City of Conway. The solar farm will generate enough electricity to power more than 21,400 homes, and will also play a role in reducing the city’s carbon footprint by the equivalent of CO2 emissions from 35,400 fuel-burning cars annually.

Conway Solar is part of a 480 megawatt, US$533 million portfolio financing package for multiple solar projects. Debt for the portfolio was provided by the following Mandated Lead Arrangers, with the balance of equity requirements invested and supported by Lightsource bp: HSBC Bank USA, ING Capital LLC, Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, NatWest, Societe Generale, Standard and Chartered Bank.

Construction will start in March 2022, with full commercial operation expected in mid-2023. Gibson Technical Services (GTS), a Subsidiary of Orbital Energy Group, has been selected by Lightsource bp as the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractor for the photovoltaic (PV) solar plant.