Spearmint CEO discusses drivers for new credit facility; glut of ERCOT battery storage projects in the market
Spearmint Energy saw a natural fit for a capital markets solution when it closed a USD 200m credit facility with Aiga Capital Partners earlier this month, CEO and co-founder Andrew Waranch said in an interview with NPM.
The company had just acquired a 900 MW portfolio of BESS assets in ERCOT, known as Nomadic, in March with a forecasted timeline of reaching a NTP on its first project in early 2024 and commercialization within 12-18 months. Spearmint needed the capital for immediate needs such as interconnection deposits, equipment and development costs.
Aiga’s predecessor PLEXUS Solutions advised a family office on financings to the-then Amp Solar Group in 2018 and Apex Clean Energy in 2020. PLEXUS founders formed Aiga to do lending in the space.
“As we went to the market, we received a diverse pool of respondents. Through this process, private credit emerged as one of the top choices, because of its flexibility and because it offered an alternative to a traditional banking landscape, which is particularly attractive for early developers,” said Waranch, adding that “Aiga also had an edge because of its track record of success.”
Waranch said the facility will also help facilitate Spearmint’s plan to form joint development agreements (JDAs) which will allow it to partner with developers on building projects. Spearmint is actively engaged in talks with these parties and is targeting up to ten agreements.
As for what is next, Waranch said he continues to see a glut of battery storage projects for sale in Texas but is taking a cautionary view towards the market.
“The biggest change in demand for storage is that the recent bills that passed in Texas weren’t very clear about firming requirements. However, these bills may well lead to requirements in the future,” said Waranch, alluding to some of the proposals that floated around the Texas legislature in the spring.
One of the bills that passed, HB-1500, featured battery storage to be used as a firming method, but also gives the state until 2027 before it implements this requirement and terminated the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) on September 1, 2025. HB-1500, most notably implemented a new Performance Credit Mechanism that would go towards new natural gas projects, but it was also capped at a USD 1bn, which was not considered enough to push new thermal energy builds forward.
“If you own a large portfolio of solar and wind in Texas, it would be in your best interest to buy batteries,” said Waranch, adding this also applies to green hydrogen projects where there is an hourly matching requirement.
*This story was originally published exclusively for NPM subscribers last month.
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