Advanced Power announced it successfully closed a $899 million project financing with its partners TIAA-CREF, Chubu Electric Power, Ullico and Prudential Capital Group providing $411 million in equity commitments, with BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole and eight other commercial banks providing $488 million in senior facilities for construction of the Carroll County Energy project.

BNP Paribas, acting as left lead and administrative agent, and Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, serving as right lead and syndication agent and hedge coordinator, served as coordinating lead arrangers and joint bookrunners in forming a syndicate of 10 financial institutions to finance the project. Whitehall Capital served as the sponsor’s financial advisor. Morgan Lewis & Bockius served as project counsel.

Located in northeastern Ohio, Carroll County Energy will be a state-of-the-art 700-megawatt combined-cycle natural gas electric generating facility that will sell energy, capacity and ancillary services into the PJM market. The project is proximate to the Utica and Marcellus natural gas production, as well as AEP’s 345 kV transmission lines and Kinder Morgan’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline system. This strategic location is an important competitive advantage of Carroll County Energy.

“The project has received strong support from Carroll County and other key stakeholders in Ohio,” said Advanced Power CEO Thomas Spang. “From the beginning it was the project’s goal to work closely with the community and to bring in the strongest partners in the industry — this milestone demonstrates the success of that strategy. Carroll County Energy is one of a number of projects Advanced Power is developing in the U.S. and Europe.”

“We are pleased to take part in another significant energy project as part of our growing relationship with Advanced Power,” said Marietta Moshiashvili, managing director and head of Natural Resources and infrastructure originations at TIAA-CREF.

“As we pursue a steady, diversified stream of returns on behalf of our investors, this project represents exactly the type of opportunity our dedicated energy infrastructure team actively seeks out, said Mario Maselli,” senior director within the energy & infrastructure investments team at TIAA-CREF. A strong management team, consistent long term returns and a positive economic impact are important criteria in our investment decision making process.

Advanced Power is a privately owned company established in 2000 to develop independent power projects in North America and Europe.