Spearmint Energy, a next-generation energy company bringing stable, secure and cost-effective energy solutions to the power grid with large scale battery storage, has successfully closed more than $250 million in financing for, and has begun construction of, Tierra Seca and Seven Flags, two 100 MW / 200 MWh Battery Energy Storage Systems (“BESS”) located in Del Rio and Laredo, respectively, within Texas’ ERCOT power market.
The financing package comprises, in aggregate, $59 million in Construction-to-Term Loan facilities (“CTL”) provided by Manulife, $95 million in Tax Equity Bridge Loan facilities (“TEBL”) provided by East West Bank (“EWB”) and Investec Inc. (“Investec”), and $98 million in tax equity commitments from Sugar Creek Capital (“Sugar Creek”).
EWB and Investec served as Coordinating Lead Arrangers, Joint Bookrunners, and Green Loan Structuring Agents for the TEBL facilities, while Investec will serve as Administrative Agent for the TEBL facilities. EWB will serve as Collateral Agent and Depository Bank for the TEBL and CTL facilities.
Andrew Waranch, Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Spearmint, commented, “We are thrilled to secure this financing for Tierra Seca and Seven Flags, which demonstrates the confidence world-class investors have in Spearmint’s ability to develop and efficiently operate grid-scale energy storage infrastructure. As rapidly increasing power demand continues to put pressure on grid stability, we are pleased to accelerate the development of these two projects to facilitate increased energy availability in ERCOT.”
Both projects are currently under construction by M.A. Mortenson Company (“Mortenson”), a leading power engineering, procurement, and construction (“EPC”) contractor with deep experience in battery energy storage. Both projects will also utilize the state-of-the-art PowerTitan 2.0 energy storage platform provided by Sungrow Power Supply Co., Ltd. (“Sungrow”), a leading global inverter and energy storage system solutions supplier. Upon completion of construction and commencement of their operations, Tierra Seca and Seven Flags will add over 200 MW / 400 MWh of storage capacity to the ERCOT grid, helping to deliver reliable, affordable and efficient power to homes and businesses throughout Texas.
Cory Magnuson, Chief Financial Officer of Spearmint, added, “Manulife, East West Bank, Investec and Sugar Creek Capital are globally recognized investors with strong expertise in energy and infrastructure. We are proud that they have elected to partner with Spearmint in our mission of providing safe, stable and affordable power to the grid.”
Paul Hastings LLP served as legal counsel to Spearmint, Day Pitney LLP represented Manulife, Milbank LLP represented East West Bank and Investec, and Leverage Law Group, LLC represented Sugar Creek.
Spearmint Energy
Spearmint Energy (“Spearmint” or the “Company”) is a leading energy company focused on developing, owning, operating, and optimizing around battery energy storage systems (“BESS”) to reduce grid volatility and increase system resiliency. Spearmint currently operates a 150MW/300 MWh BESS project in West Texas, and has more than 20 projects, totaling over 13GWh of capacity, under development in 10 states across 5 U.S. regions. Headquartered in Miami, with an additional office in Minneapolis, the Company employs over 70 professionals and is guided by strong values rooted in people, partnerships, and the planet.
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