Nuveen’s energy infrastructure credit arm and HPS Investment Partners have led a $200m (€172.7m) expansion of Dimension Energy’s corporate credit facility, taking the US distributed solar developer’s total corporate facility to $650m.
Partners Group-owned Dimension Energy also secured a $657m construction-to-term debt and tax equity financing package from a number of financial institutions led by MUFG Bank, First Citizens Bank, ING Capital and National Bank of Canada, each serving as coordinating lead arrangers, with Fifth Third Bank as joint lead arranger.
Advantage Capital served as tax equity investor.
The funding will support 149MW of solar projects across five US states. Dimension Energy owns over 600MW of operating and under-construction assets, with the new capital supporting its target to reach 1GW by 2028.
Rafael Dobrzynski, co-founder and CEO of Dimension Energy, said: “These new commitments from our financing partners reflect the strength of our platform. This capital will enable us to keep scaling with discipline and speed at a moment when demand for distributed power has never been higher.”
Tom Bitting, managing director at Advantage Capital, said: “We’re pleased to partner with Dimension Energy as the company continues to scale its distributed solar platform.
“The Dimension team has built a strong track record of moving quality projects from development through construction. We’re proud to provide tax equity that supports that growth and helps bring reliable, affordable power to more communities across the country.”
Fred Zelaya, managing director at MUFG, said: “MUFG is pleased to support Dimension Energy’s latest solar portfolio, which will provide long-term sustainable energy to various communities across the US.”
Don Dimitrievich, global head of Nuveen energy infrastructure credit, said: “With power demand accelerating and transmission and distribution costs rising alongside generation costs, distributed solar is well-positioned to deliver reliable power closer to load.
“Upsizing our commitment reflects Nuveen energy infrastructure credit’s continued conviction and confidence in Dimension’s ability to execute at scale, and we’re excited to keep supporting their growth given the market opportunity.”
Investment manager Nuveen has been actively scaling its energy debt platform, having raised an initial $1.3bn last year towards a $2.5bn target for its Energy & Power Infrastructure Credit Fund II. Key backers of the strategy include Nuveen’s parent TIAA, an unnamed “leading Canadian pension fund manager” and the Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System, which committed $80m to the vehicle.
Last month, California State Teachers’ Retirement System teamed up with Nuveen to invest up to $2bn via Nuveen’s energy and power infrastructure credit strategy.
The $397bn US pension fund anchored Nuveen’s energy infrastructure credit business as part of the partnership that will provide capital solutions to finance the buildout of critical infrastructure in OECD countries.
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