BrightNight (renewable energy company) has reached financial close for Frontier, a 120 megawatt solar photovoltaic project situated across Washington and Marion counties in Kentucky, marking a pivotal milestone in the project's path toward delivering renewable power to the state's largest regulated utility partnership.

Project Background and Utility Partnership

The Frontier project is being developed under a Build Transfer Agreement between BrightNight and Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company, known collectively as LG&E and KU.

That agreement was signed in August 2024 as part of the utilities' long-term strategic investment plans aimed at supporting Kentucky's growing energy needs with what both parties describe as safe, reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy.

Once constructed, Frontier will become a new, additional source of renewable generation for LG&E and KU, which together serve nearly 1.4 million customers across Kentucky and portions of Virginia.

LG&E and KU are subsidiaries of PPL Corporation, listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker PPL. The project received regulatory approval from the Kentucky Public Service Commission in 2023 as part of LG&E and KU's Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity filing, clearing a significant regulatory hurdle before the Build Transfer Agreement was finalized the following year.

Financial Close and Lending Consortium

Project financing for Frontier was provided by a consortium of three leading financial institutions: ING Capital LLC, Natixis Corporate and Investment Banking, and HSBC. BrightNight described the successful close as a reflection of strong capital market confidence in its development approach, integrated project design, and focus on long-term asset performance.

The West Palm Beach, Florida-based company announced the financial close from its corporate headquarters. According to BrightNight, reaching financial close represents the conversion of years of development, engineering, commercial structuring, and pre-construction investment into a fully financed infrastructure asset now moving into construction.

Martin Hermann, CEO of BrightNight, said the milestone reflects not only the strength of the individual project but also the company's broader capacity to move complex, multi-stakeholder energy infrastructure from concept to financed reality.

"Frontier demonstrates the strong demand for BrightNight's cost-effective power solutions for Kentucky and across the United States," Hermann said. "We are proud to partner with LG&E and KU on a project that will deliver long-term value, operational excellence, and a meaningful contribution to the region's growing energy needs."

Construction Timeline and Development Schedule

BrightNight stated that Frontier is advancing on schedule, with commercial operation expected by fall of 2027. With financing now secured, the company said it will continue advancing the project through construction mobilization and coordinated delivery across engineering, procurement, and construction activities through to final completion.

John R. Crockett III, President of LG&E and KU, noted the broader economic context driving the project's importance to the state. "It's an exciting time in Kentucky where we're experiencing unprecedented economic growth opportunities, creating more jobs and tax incentives for the communities we're proud to serve," Crockett said.

He described the partnership with BrightNight on Frontier as an important step in advancing additional renewable energy resources within LG&E and KU's generation portfolio while maintaining the affordable rates and reliable service customers expect.

BrightNight's PowerAlpha Platform

Frontier's design and development leveraged BrightNight's proprietary optimization platform, PowerAlpha, which the company describes as an AI-driven tool enabling best-in-class project economics, performance, and uptime.

BrightNight said the platform was applied specifically to deliver what it characterizes as best-in-class power project value for LG&E and KU through the Frontier development process.

BrightNight positions PowerAlpha as a differentiating capability across its broader development activities, describing it as central to the company's ability to originate, develop, and finance complex energy infrastructure at scale.

BrightNight's Broader U.S. Portfolio

Frontier joins what BrightNight describes as a series of recently advanced projects across its growing U.S. portfolio, which the company says includes more than 30 gigawatts of power projects concentrated in the nation's fastest-growing energy markets and data center hubs.

The company characterizes itself as a next-generation power and digital infrastructure company designed to serve the evolving needs of utilities as well as commercial and industrial customers.

BrightNight's project portfolio spans utility-scale renewables, advanced gas generation, battery energy storage, and power-optimized hubs for digital infrastructure.

The company said it has multiple projects progressing simultaneously through development, financing, construction, and operations phases across the United States, serving utilities, data centers, and commercial and industrial customers.

The Frontier financial close comes as Kentucky utilities navigate substantial growth in electricity demand, a trend that Crockett referenced in his comments about the state's economic expansion and job creation.

LG&E and KU have said their investment plans are designed to meet that demand growth while preserving reliability and affordability for their combined customer base of nearly 1.4 million across Kentucky and Virginia.

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