Panamint says it closed the first phase of a $1.8 billion solar loan

Panamint Capital says it has closed the first phase of a $1.8 billion green loan. The money is for the Big Rooter Power solar project at its Twin Oaks station in Robertson County, Texas. The company says the project is being built on reclaimed coal mine land.

The first phase is $769 million. Panamint says that amount will fund ongoing construction of Big Rooter West, a 491 megawatt-dc portion. Construction on the first phase got underway in July. The arrays sit on 4,458 acres of reclaimed mine land at the Twin Oaks complex, halfway between Dallas and Houston.

A second phase is still ahead. The company says a later phase of more than $1 billion will finance Big Rooter East, a 658 megawatt-dc stage. It says that stage is slated to begin construction in December 2026 and enter commercial operation in August 2029. Financing on that phase is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027.

The chief executive described the finished complex. Apolka Totth said, "When Big Rooter is complete, the Twin Oaks complex will have 1.5 GW of operating thermal and renewable power, in addition to over 20 miles of new 345 kV transmission, 1.6 GWh of battery energy storage and 790 MW of Batch Zero data center capacity under development across our 10,000-acre site."

A buyer is signed, and the name is not public. Bill Stanton, managing director of development, said the company signed a long-term power purchase agreement with one of the country's largest companies. He did not name the buyer. Panamint says the electricity is meant to serve that contract into the 2050s.

Contractors are named. Panamint says Solv Energy will handle engineering, procurement and construction, including the solar arrays, substation and transmission. It says First Solar will supply about 2 million panels made in Ohio, Louisiana and Alabama, and that Nextpower will supply its NX Horizon trackers. The projects reportedly will use over 34,000 tons of domestically manufactured steel. Panamint says construction of both phases is expected to create over 800 jobs.