Enlight Announces the Financial Close for Project Country Acres

Enlight Renewable Energy Ltd. (“Enlight”, “the Company”, NASDAQ: ENLT, TASE: ENLT.TA), a leading global renewable energy platform, announced that the Company has received debt financing (the “Debt Financing”) for project Country Acres (“Country Acres” or “the Project”), located near Sacramento, California, USA. 

As part of the Debt Financing, Enlight, through its subsidiary Clenera Holdings LLC, has secured construction financing commitments with a consortium of four leading global banks including BNP Paribas Securities Corp, Crédit Agricole, Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking, and Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (Nord/LB), totaling $773 million.Upon the Project’s COD, the construction loan is expected to convert into a $376 million term loan.

The Project has a 30-year solar generation busbar PPAand 20-year energy storage busbar purchase agreement with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (“SMUD”).The Company expects to conclude a tax equity transaction during the construction period, noting that the Project has met the terms required to achieve safe harbor status for beginning of construction.

Country Acres consists of 403 MW solar generation and 688 MWh of energy storage capacity, and is expected to reach full COD during the second half of 2026. Construction at the 966-acre site has already begun, and all procurement contracts have been signed. The Project is expected to provide clean electricity equivalent to the average annual consumption of approximately 80,000 California households.

“We are grateful to once again be partnering with leading banks on one of our largest projects,” said Adam Pishl, President and CEO of Clenera. “The American-generated, reliable energy produced at Country Acres will fueling the homes and businesses in central California for decades to come.”

After the completion of Apex in Montana and Atrisco in New Mexico, Country Acres is one of several major solar and energy storage projects that Enlight and Clenera are now constructing in the U.S. These include Quail Ranch (128 MW and 400 MWh) and Roadrunner (290 MW and 940 MWh). Along with additional projects planned to be built in the years to come, these projects are driving Enlight’s massive expansion into the U.S. renewable energy market. This is best illustrated by the growing run rate of Enlight’s U.S. revenue base, which is expected to reach $195-207 million annually after the completion of the projects now under construction.

The Company's next projects in the western Unites States are Snowflake (600 MW and 1,900 MWh) and CO Bar (1,211 MW and 824 MWh). The two mega projects have almost completed their development phase, and are scheduled to begin construction in the coming months. Each of the two projects employs a grid connection of 1.0 GW, one of the largest in the US. These grid connections generate potential additional development opportunities in the future through the Company’s “Connect and Expand” strategy, which seeks to leverage existing interconnect infrastructure with additional generation capacity.

“Country Acres is the second financial closing that we have accomplished with the same group of lenders in the past three months, illustrating the extent of our partnership and cooperation,” said Ilan Goren, GM of Enlight USA. “We look forward to further deepening this relationship as Enlight and Clenera continue the build out of our large US project portfolio.”

“After the successful closing of Roadrunner, BNP Paribas is proud to once again support Clenera and Enlight as Coordinating Lead Arranger on their new landmark project financing of Country Acres,” said Aashish Mohan, Co-Head of Energy, Resources & Infrastructure Americas, at BNP Paribas. “Supporting premier platforms like Clenera squarely fits our energy infrastructure ambitions, and we look forward to growing our partnership with Clenera as they continue to execute on their high-quality U.S. renewables pipeline.”

Nasir Khan, Managing Director & Head of Real Assets and Global Trade Americas at Natixis Corporate & Investment Bankng said, “Natixis is thrilled to close our second transaction with Clenera on another robust renewable energy project financing, which aligns perfectly with our commitment to the energy transition. As Clenera continues to expand its pipeline of large-scale energy projects, we look forward to further strengthening our partnership and providing innovative capital solutions to meet its long-term financial needs.”

“CACIB is proud to partner with Clenera and Enlight once again on a landmark project which will deliver reliable, clean power to SMUD, underscoring our collective objective to provide long term sustainable and affordable power,” said Julien Tizorin - Head of Power and New Energy at CACIB

Sondra Martinez, Managing Director and Head of Originations Nord/LB's said "Nord/LB is extremely excited to support Clenera and Enlight on the Country Acres financing. This deal demonstrates our commitment to supporting recurring clients as they advance the energy transition and provide affordable power to local communities." 

Enlight | www.enlightenergy.co.il.