Orsted receives $650 million tax equity financing from J.P. Morgan

(Reuters) - Danish company Orsted has secured an investment of $680 million in tax equity financing from J.P. Morgan for a portfolio of solar and storage assets in Texas and Arizona, the clean energy developer said on Thursday.

The tax equity allows for tax credit transferability under 2022 President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, which corporate buyers can purchase to support clean energy storage projects in the U.S.

Additionally, the Biden administration is undertaking a separate effort to identify areas in 11 western states best suited for solar energy development, which it expects to finalize by the end of the year.

European panel manufacturers are also looking to develop projects outside of the EU, as they are weighed by competition from China and the U.S. whose governments give more support to their producers.

The investment will help fund the completion of its Arizona project along with its 250 MW solar project in Texas, the company said.

Orsted's 300 MW Arizona facility will receive a one-time investment tax credit investment for its battery storage system, which has become a priority technology amid rising renewable energy capacity. Arizona's solar farm will generate production tax credits for the next decade.

J.P Morgan, before this deal, had investments in 1.8 GW of Orsted's 5.7 GW onshore portfolio in the United States.

The company expects commercial operations for both projects to begin in 2024.

Utility-scale solar projects added a record 15 gigawatts (GW) of capacity in 2023, up 60% from the year prior and marking an all-time high, environmental research group Kayrros said in February.

(Reporting by Pritam Biswas and Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)