White & Case advises Avantus on more than US$500 million financing and development of Aratina 1 solar and battery energy storage project

Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised Avantus on the development and financing of the Aratina 1 – 200 MWac solar and 500 MWh photovoltaic and battery energy storage project in Kern County, California. The financing, which totalled more than US$500 million, comprised construction funding, a tax equity bridge loan and letters of credit.

A White & Case team supported Avantus in the early stages of this project by drafting and negotiating key project documents, including various engineering, procurement and construction, battery and PV module supply, long-term services, operations and maintenance, interconnection, asset management and other ancillary project agreements. Leading up to financial close, the integrated team assisted Avantus with the drafting and negotiation of the finance documents and conditions precedent to closing.

"The successful closing of this transaction once again showcases the Firm's market-leading, fully integrated Project Development and Finance capabilities," said White & Case partner David Strickland, who co-led the Firm's deal team.

Avantus is a premier US developer of utility-scale solar and solar-plus-storage projects that has successfully developed, financed and constructed over 2 GW of operating solar and battery storage projects and owns a large project pipeline expected to deliver approximately 30 GWdc of solar and 94 MWh of energy storage across the Western US.

White & Case partner Raymond Azar, who co-led the Firm's deal team, said: "We are thrilled to have been able to leverage our cross-practice resources to support our client and partner, Avantus, in this outstanding outcome thanks to their trust in our capabilities and relentless persistence amidst the current market landscape."

The White & Case team was led by Project Development and Finance partners David Strickland (Houston), Raffaele Turco and Raymond Azar, and included associates Catherine Gu and Jeffrey Godly (all in New York). The team also included Project Development and Finance partner Monica Hwang, and associates Samer Mahjoub (both in Houston), Gahyun Kim and Anisha Sivathas (both in New York); Tax partners Jeffrey Davis and Michael Sykes, and associates Jordan Jentz (all in Washington, DC) and Sadi Moradi (Houston).

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