Darden Projects Will Transform Retired Agricultural Land Into Power for California’s Grid
San Francisco – May 21, 2026 – IPX Power, LLC (“IPX Power”), announced today the closing of committed financing for the construction and operation of the Darden projects (“Darden”) in Fresno County, California. The financing encompasses $4.95 billion of construction debt comprising a $403 million letter of credit facility, a $911 million tax equity bridge loan, a $1.81 billion tax credit transfer bridge loan, and a $1.83 billion construction loan that will convert to a $1.83 billion term loan upon project completion, an aggregate $929 million of tax equity commitments, and tax credit purchase agreements for Darden’s aggregate $2.13 billion investment tax credits.
Darden is the first project financing for IPX Power since its formation. Located on privately owned retired agricultural land in the Central Valley, Darden is expected to generate up to 1.15 GWac / 1.6 GWp of solar power and will include 4.6 GWh of battery storage. Darden is expected to reach commercial operation in 2028.
“The scale of the Darden transaction reflects both the quality of what we’re building and the strength of the relationships we’ve cultivated at IPX Power,” said David Brochu, CEO of IPX Power. “Large, complex, innovative projects like Darden are central to the energy transition, and only achievable through deep collaboration with trusted partners. We are thrilled to have worked with Darden’s many financial partners to make this historic transaction a reality.”
The debt facility was underwritten by leading financial institutions. MUFG Bank, Ltd., Banco Santander, S.A., Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (CIB), Deutsche Bank, and Societe Generale served as Initial Coordinating Lead Arrangers and Joint Bookrunners. BNP Paribas, CIBC Capital Markets, CoBank, ACB, HSBC Bank USA, N.A., Intesa Sanpaolo, J.P. Morgan, National Bank of Canada, NORD/LB, Royal Bank of Canada, Standard Chartered, Truist Securities, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, and Westpac Banking Corporation served as Coordinating Lead Arrangers, and KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. served as Joint Lead Arranger. MUFG Bank, Ltd. served as Administrative Agent, Banco Santander served as Green Loan Arranger, CIBC Capital Markets served as Global Hedge Coordinator, Wilmington Trust, NA served as Collateral Agent, and J.P. Morgan served as Depositary Agent on the debt financing.
J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley provided the tax equity commitment. J.P. Morgan committed to purchase the portion of the investment tax credits that will not be allocated to the tax equity investors, and this purchase commitment is expected to be replaced by tax credit purchase agreements with third-party buyers through construction.
“We are proud to have contributed to this landmark transaction through an innovative combination of tax credit transfer and tax equity commitments at an unprecedented scale, financing significant renewable generation and storage capacity while enhancing energy affordability, security, and resilience,” said Rubiao Song, Managing Director and Head of Energy Investments at J.P. Morgan.
“We are proud to partner with IPX Power on Darden—a landmark transaction at the intersection of scale, grid reliability, and innovation in U.S. energy infrastructure,” said Jorge Iragorri, Managing Director and Global Co-Head of Infrastructure Capital Markets at Morgan Stanley.
“MUFG is proud to support IPX Power and play a lead role in structuring and executing this marquee and innovative financing. This deal emphasizes MUFG’s commitment to clients like IPX Power that are meeting the growing energy needs of the US economy,” said Matt Curtin, Managing Director at MUFG.
“We are proud to support IPX Power on its first asset-level transaction as an independent company,” said Nuno Andrade, Head of Structured Finance US for Santander Corporate & Investment Banking. “Project Darden highlights our commitment to financing transformative renewable infrastructure.”
“This financing marks a defining moment not only for IPX Power, but for the clean energy transition in California. Crédit Agricole CIB is proud to have stood with the IPX team from the very beginning of their independent journey,” said Julien Tizorin, Managing Director, Head of Power & New Energy at Crédit Agricole CIB. “Darden is a testament to what is possible when visionary developers and committed financial partners build together—and we look forward to supporting IPX’s growing pipeline for years to come.”
“Deutsche Bank is proud to have co-led the successful financing of Darden,” said Jeremy Eisman, Managing Director and Head of Infrastructure & Energy Financing at Deutsche Bank. “This landmark transaction not only marks a significant milestone for IPX Power but also underscores our deep expertise in the renewable energy industry. We value our strong, collaborative relationship with the IPX team and look forward to continuing to play a key role in their ongoing success in bringing such vital projects to fruition.”
“We are pleased to support IPX Power on the landmark Darden transaction, which represents a significant step forward in delivering large-scale, reliable clean energy infrastructure in California,” said Vikrant Prakash, Head of Energy+ Houston at Societe Generale. “The scale and complexity of this financing highlight the strength of collaboration across stakeholders, and we are particularly proud to contribute to an innovative structure that advances the energy transition while helping bring a project of this importance to fruition.”
IPX Power and its partners were represented by the following counsel and advisors: Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as commercial and tax counsel to IPX Power on the tax equity investment and tax credit purchase agreements; Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP served as counsel to IPX Power on the debt financing; Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP served as local counsel to IPX Power; Milbank LLP served as commercial and tax counsel for the tax equity investors; Paul Hastings LLP served as counsel to the Initial Coordinating Lead Arrangers, the Administrative Agent, the Depositary Agent, the lenders, the letter of credit issuing banks and the interest rate hedge providers on the debt financing; Dorsey & Whitney LLP served as counsel to the Collateral Agent on the debt financing; Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP served as local counsel to the tax equity investors and lenders; CCA Capital LLC advised IPX Power on the tax equity and tax credit purchase agreement transactions; TPG Capital BD, LLC advised IPX Power on the debt financing; and, Riverside Risk Advisors advised IPX Power on interest rate hedging.
Independent consultants engaged on the transaction include: Luminate as Independent Engineer, Aurora Energy Research as market and transmission consultant for the lenders, nFront Consulting as transmission consultant for the tax equity investors, Energy and Environmental Economics as the revenue consultant for the tax equity investors, Marshall & Stevens as Cost Segregation and Appraiser for the tax equity investors, and Stance Renewable Risk Partners, Inc. as Insurance Consultant.
About IPX Power
IPX Power is an independent power producer that develops, owns, and operates some of the world’s largest clean energy resources, delivering affordable, reliable power to utilities and other customers. IPX has 4.4 GW of solar PV and 8.8 GWh of battery storage in construction or operation. To learn more visit IPXPower.com.
Media Contact
Kristina Skierka
510-397-4756
[email protected]
