As California continues to push for a carbon-free electricity grid by 2045, hybrid projects combining solar power with energy storage are playing an increasingly vital role. A recent milestone in this effort came with Aypa Power’s announcement of $535 million in secured debt financing for the 320MW Vidal project in San Bernardino County.
The project, which pairs 160MW of solar capacity with a 160MW/640MWh battery energy storage system (BESS), is expected to enter commercial operation in 2026. Vidal stands out not only for its scale but for its strategic integration of dispatchable energy—aiming to provide peak-demand support and grid reliability while supplying renewable electricity to San Diego Community Power under a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA).
The financing package, one of the largest debt raises for a hybrid renewable project in the U.S. this year, signals investor confidence in both Aypa Power’s development pipeline and California’s regulatory landscape supporting energy transition infrastructure. Santander Corporate & Investment Banking acted as coordinating lead arranger, green loan coordinator, and letter of credit issuer. Additional financial partners included U.S. Bank (through its Impact Finance arm), Zions Bancorporation, Siemens Financial Services, and Associated Bank.
The economics of such projects are bolstered by California’s capacity market reforms and incentives for resource adequacy—a key factor in the Vidal project’s revenue strategy. Through its BESS component, the project will be able to store solar energy for dispatch during peak evening hours, when demand is high and solar generation drops off.
In addition to contributing toward state-level decarbonization goals, Vidal is expected to deliver tangible local benefits. The project will generate an estimated $13.5 million in regional economic activity and create approximately 260 construction jobs, according to the company. Located in San Bernardino County, an area with a growing footprint of renewable energy infrastructure, the project adds to a growing portfolio of clean tech investments designed to bring resilience and jobs to inland California.
This financing follows Aypa’s earlier $190 million debt raise in January 2025 for its Bypass BESS project in Fort Bend County, Texas. That facility, sized at 200MW/400MWh, was supported by a $68 million construction-to-term loan and a $91 million tax equity bridge loan. Together, these two deals suggest a strategic alignment by Aypa Power—a Blackstone portfolio company—toward bankable, large-scale battery storage projects in both ERCOT and CAISO markets.
As California faces increasing pressure to retire fossil fuel peaker plants and manage the intermittency of renewables, projects like Vidal will serve as critical testbeds for the economic viability of solar-plus-storage at utility scale. With funding now in place, the next phase will involve execution—on permitting, procurement, and ultimately grid interconnection—each of which remains a known pressure point in the state’s renewable deployment pace.
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