For the first time since starting this little Friday tradition on Factor This, I missed a roundup post last week on the heels of a long-awaited honeymoon-turned-babymoon that came with the unwanted souvenir of a lingering stomach bug for my wife. Fortunately for you, dear reader, I’m not here to recount the horrors I’ve heard through thin bathroom walls over the last week. Instead, I want to share an observation I made in my vacation destination – Jamaica.
For a sunny island nation cut off from larger grids, I was astounded at the lack of solar photovoltaic panels. I did spot a few rooftop systems on long drives up and down the coast, but they were few and far between, both at the residential and commercial scale. There are simple explanations for this, including frequent damaging storms and heartbreaking poverty in coastal communities, but it blew my mind nonetheless. One would think the resorts, if nothing else, would be leaning heavily into the benefits of solar plus storage systems. They have their own water treatment facilities, for crying out loud- why wouldn’t they generate and store their own power?
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) estimates that Jamaica had approximately 110 megawatts (MW) of solar energy online by the end of 2023. The government’s Generation Procurement Entity held a 100 MW tender in 2023, awarding two 50 MW projects to Kingston-based developers Wigton Energy and SunTerra Energy, so the nation’s total should nearly double in the coming years.
Like our friends in Puerto Rico, Jamaica faces unique grid resiliency challenges that are tough problems to solve. Plus, vines on electric infrastructure. SO MANY VINES.
It’s nice to be back in the United States, all things considered, to write about some of the biggest finance and project development stories from the homeland. Have a great weekend, take care of each other, and drink bottled water in foreign countries if you can.
Arevon Lands Nearly $100 Million for Indiana Solar Projects
It has been a busy month for Arevon Energy. The project developer, owner, and operator broke ground on its first utility-scale renewable energy project in Missouri, Kelso Solar, a few weeks ago. On Wednesday, Arevon announced that it had secured a $98 million tax equity commitment from Fifth Third Bank for the company’s Ratts 1 and Heirloom Solar projects in Indiana. The pair, currently under construction in Pike County, will add 265 MW to the company’s growing stake in Midwest/Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) territory.
The 73 MW Heirloom project has an Environmental Attributes Purchase Agreement (EAPA) with offtaker Meta Platforms. The 192 MW Ratts 1 Solar is under a long-term power purchase agreement with the Indiana Municipal Power Agency. Both are expected to be fully operational by the end of this year.
Arevon announced the separate $299 million financial close for the Ratts 1 and Heirloom Solar Projects in September 2024, marking its first uncommitted tax equity and tax credit transfer bridge loan transaction and benefiting from the capital structure flexibility provided by the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) tax credit transfer provision.
What they’re saying: “The complex and highly successful structure of this transaction marks another notable financial accomplishment for Arevon. This is a great example of what happens when all the right pieces come together,” posited Denise Tait, chief investment officer at Arevon.
Arevon’s aggregate project financings over the last 18 months total more than $3.8 billion for new solar and energy storage projects across the United States.
Enel and GPP Pull off Wind Asset Trade
Enel Green Power North America (EGPNA) has signed a swap agreement with Gulf Pacific Power that will increase its indirect equity stake in certain corporate vehicles owning wind farms, bringing it to 51%, in exchange for its stakes in other corporate vehicles owning wind farms, one amounting to 100% and the others which are indirect minority interests, and for a cash consideration of $50 million to be paid by EGPNA.
That’s right out of the press release, so don’t blame me if you’re a little uncertain as to what that means. The gist: Once the two companies are done swapping Pokemon cards stakes in wind farms and the transaction closes, Enel will increase its net installed consolidated capacity in the USA by 285 MW.
The transaction is in line with the Enel Group’s strategy to increase its generation capacity from renewable sources, including through the acquisition of assets already in operation. Enel’s total net installed consolidated renewable capacity in the United States amounted to 11,620 MW in the first quarter of 2025.
I Can Be Your Heron, Baby: $38M Towards an All-Electric Future
Energy infrastructure company Heron Power announced Thursday that it raised $38 million in Series A funding led by Capricorn Investment Group’s Technology Impact Fund, with participation from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Energy Impact Partners, Gigascale Capital, Powerhouse Ventures, Valor Equity Partners, Tesla co-founder JB Straubel, and former Tesla CFO Zach Kirkhorn. The round brings the total funding raised by Heron Power to $43 million. The company is developing industrial power electronics purpose-built for the 21st-century grid, helping the electricity sector to grow faster with scalable, reliable, and software-integrated infrastructure. Heron Power will utilize the newfound capital to expand its team and finalize the engineering of the Heron Link, a solid-state transformer solution that could replace legacy transformers and power converters.
Heron Power’s first product, the Heron Link, connects directly to medium voltage. It is a modular megawatt-scale power converter built on the latest advances in wide-bandgap semiconductors. Designed for high power density and ease of maintenance, the company says it offers greater reliability and lower costs for developers of renewables, energy storage, and data centers. Heron says its Link can also help prevent cascading outages, like the recent one in Spain.
What they’re saying: “We’re at an inflection point where clean, abundant energy is ready to come online—but grid interconnection challenges hold us back,” stated Drew Baglino, founder and CEO of Heron Power. “Heron Power aims to bridge that gap. With electrification on a path to triple electricity demand and AI’s exponential need for power, we’re moving fast on the opportunity to modernize the grid with more capable hardware.”
Lightshift Building Biggest BESS in Vermont
We saved the biggest and the BESS for last!
Lightshift Energy is gearing up to build Vermont’s largest battery energy storage system at GlobalFoundries’ (GF) semiconductor manufacturing facility in Essex Junction. The Virginia-based storage developer, owner, and operator has already completed permitting and contracting and plans to begin construction this year, targeting site operations in early 2026.
This project represents a forward-thinking approach to integrating battery technology within a large-scale manufacturing facility, Lightshift contends. By connecting directly to GF’s switchyard, the 16MW/52MWh system will be used primarily for peak shaving by storing electricity during periods of low regional demand and discharging it during peak times to alleviate grid stress. Lowering peak energy usage will also improve regional grid resilience and reduce reliance on fossil fuels, particularly during high-demand periods when natural gas is the primary fuel source on the New England grid.
What they’re saying: “GF has been a great partner on this project, which will not only reduce energy costs for its Vermont campus but also support regional electric reliability and Vermont’s clean energy goals,” said Michael Herbert, Lightshift co-founder and managing partner. “This project represents new applications for energy storage within the semiconductor industry, demonstrating how managing peak demand can improve efficiency for industrial operations, and how energy storage can be used to mitigate the impacts of large loads on the electric grid.”
