AES Increases Green Financing to $2.7 Billion to Support Construction and Operation of Clean Energy Projects in the US
Arlington, VA (June 29, 2023) – The AES Corporation’s (NYSE: AES) US clean energy business announced that it has increased its three-year renewable energy construction warehouse credit facility by $800 million to $2.5 billion to support the company’s build-out of clean energy projects. AES also announced that it has successfully closed $246.5 million of senior secured private placement notes for its US-based clean energy business, bringing the financing total to more than $2.7 billion.
The construction warehouse credit facility will finance more than 3 GW of new clean energy construction over the next 12 months. This additional $800 million is the third financing round AES has conducted for the facility and builds on the initial $700 million raised in January 2022 and an additional $1 billion raised from September to November 2022, making it the largest warehouse financing structure closed to date for US renewable projects. It is also the first green financing transaction[1] closed in the US syndicated loan market to support financing capacity based on transferability provisions of the August 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.
The closing of the senior notes represents the second transaction done under AES’ Clean Energy Master Indenture Structure (MIS) and net proceeds will refinance four newly operational projects that were built using funds from the construction warehouse facility, which enables AES to recycle capital in support of its development pipeline.
“With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, the renewable energy sector and AES have entered a new era of growth,” said James Marshall, Chief Financial Officer, AES Clean Energy. “This financing arrangement will enable us to build out our current and future backlog of clean generation projects across the US. and it will allow us to ramp up construction of our diverse portfolio of clean energy projects in several key states.”
CIBC led both transactions, serving as Structuring Bank and Administrative Agent for the construction warehouse and as Ratings Advisor and Lead Placement Agent for the Notes, providing seamless execution across the broader financing for AES. Both deals were well received by the market, with 21 lenders participating in the warehouse syndicate and 14 investors allocated in the Notes issuance.
In addition to CIBC, the construction warehouse loan syndicate includes 20 other creditors: Banco Santander, BNP Paribas, Cadence Bank, Citibank, Credit Agricole, DNB Capital LLC, HSBC Bank USA, KeyBank, Mizuho Bank, Ltd., MUFG Bank Ltd., National Bank of Canada, Natixis, Rabobank, Silicon Valley Bank (a division of First Citizens), Societe Generale, SMBC, Standard Chartered, Truist, Wells Fargo and Zions Bancorp.
About AES
The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES) is a Fortune 500 global energy company accelerating the future of energy. Together with our many stakeholders, we're improving lives by delivering the greener, smarter energy solutions the world needs. Our diverse workforce is committed to continuous innovation and operational excellence, while partnering with our customers on their strategic energy transitions and continuing to meet their energy needs today. For more information, visit AES here.
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[1] As consistent with the Green Loan Principles established by the LSTA; available here.