Birch Creek Development announced this month that it will receive an increase in its credit facility to $250 million from Fundamental Renewables.
Birch Creek, based in El Segundo, will use the proceeds from the credit facility to fund the development and construction of utility-scale solar projects.
In addition, the financing from Fundamental Renewables, which is based in New York, will go toward strategic acquisitions in key markets and will support Birch Creek’s solar module procurement strategy, a key component of the firm’s growth plan.
Birch Creek focuses on the development and financing of utility-scale solar and storage projects, and since 2019 has financed more than 700 megawatts of solar power.
The company currently has 5-plus gigawatts of utility-scale solar projects in its pipeline in various stages of development across projects by Midcontinent Independent System Operator Inc., an independent, not-for-profit, member-based organization in Carmel, Indiana focused on managing the generation and transmission of electricity across 15 U.S. states and the Canadian province of Manitoba; PJM Interconnection, an Audubon, Penn.-based company that handles electricity needs for millions of customers in all or parts of 13 states from Illinois to New Jersey and the District of Columbia; and in Texas, and the Southeast.
“This enhanced credit facility lets us execute on our current pipeline and target new opportunities in our core markets, while also giving us the financial backing necessary to pursue our strategic objectives,” Dan Siegel, chief executive of Birch Creek, said in a statement. “Fundamental Renewables has been an incredible partner to us over the last three years and our collaboration has resulted in a significant deployment of renewable energy in the United States.”
Mark Dominé, managing director of Fundamental Renewables, said that Birch Creek has developed a well-regarded pipeline of executable solar and storage projects.
“We are excited to continue working with their team to support the development of renewable energy projects nationwide, and we are proud to be part of creating the many environmental benefits these projects will provide,” Dominé said in a statement.
Fundamental Renewables is the renewable and clean-energy investment arm of Fundamental Advisors.
Birch Creek was founded in 2019 by a group of solar-industry executives. Its senior management team has collectively financed or developed solar generation projects in practically every state in the nation, according to the company.
To date, Birch Creek has developed 28 solar projects totaling about 315 megawatts of solar power generation. Some of the projects include Centerfield Solar, a 98-megawatt solar array on nearly 600 acres in Chesterfield, S.C. that can provide power to more than 10,000 homes; and the Grissom solar and storage project in Enfield, N.C. which generates 7 megawatts of electricity, or enough to power just more than 1,000 homes. It has the capacity to store 10-megawatt hours of electricity. Both projects went into operation last year.
