Intersect Power announced the commercial operation of its Athos III solar project located in Riverside County, California. The Athos III solar project was built by union labor, with American-made solar panels, batteries, and steel piles, meaning it is expected to meet the domestic content and prevailing wage requirements in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
The Athos III solar project (also known as Blythe Mesa Solar II) generates 224 MWac/310 MWp of reliable solar energy, enough to power approximately 94,000 homes, and features 448 MWh of co-located storage.
“Today marks a major milestone for the Intersect Power team and our impact as a clean energy developer, owner and operator,” said Intersect Power CEO Sheldon Kimber. “Athos III demonstrates that Intersect continues to pioneer procurement standards for our industry that live up to the vision of the IRA. This project is much more than a significant new source of clean energy for California’s energy system; it’s also a case study in how the clean energy industry can maximize our impact by prioritizing domestic supply chains and union labor to ensure the benefits of the clean energy transition are felt by all Americans.”
The Athos III solar project is part of Intersect Power’s near-term portfolio totaling 2.2 GW of solar PV and 1.4 GWh of co-located storage. The remainder of the portfolio will be operational in 2023. Construction of the Athos III solar project created 500 peak union jobs.
Funding for the project’s construction and operations was secured as part of the broader portfolio financing announced last November, when Intersect Power closed on portfolio level term debt, tax equity, and construction financing commitments from leading financial institutions and investors. The portfolio term debt was provided by HPS Investment Partners. The Tax Equity was provided by Morgan Stanley Renewables Inc. Construction debt was provided by Coordinating Lead Arrangers MUFG and Santander Corporate & Investment Banking, along with Cobank, KeyBanc Capital Markets, Helaba, and Nord LB as Joint Lead Arrangers.
