38 Degrees North has secured a $260 million oversubscribed credit facility led by Apterra Infrastructure Capital to finance construction of roughly 85 MW of community solar projects in New York and Illinois.
38 Degrees North (38DN) closed a $260 million credit facility with Apterra Infrastructure Capital (an Apollo affiliate) to fund construction of approximately 85 MW of community solar projects in New York and Illinois. Apterra served as Joint Lead Arranger, Administrative Agent, and Sole Bookrunner. Stifel and National Bank of Canada acted as additional Joint Lead Arrangers. BankUnited served as Collateral Agent. Farmer Mac, Amalgamated Bank, and Siemens Financial Services participated as additional lenders. The facility was oversubscribed.
Legal counsel: Stoel Rives LLP for 38DN; Norton Rose Fulbright for the lender group.
No public details were released on interest rate, maturity, amortization, covenants, security package specifics beyond the collateral agent role, or exact draw conditions. The facility is framed as construction financing for ready to build or permitted community solar assets rather than early stage development capital.
Proceeds support construction of ~85 MW across New York and Illinois, two of the most active U.S. community solar markets. These states feature programs designed to deliver bill savings to subscribers while advancing clean generation. Lengthening project queues favor developers with permitted pipelines and committed construction capital, positioning 38DN to convert backlog into operating assets.
This follows 38DN’s August 2026 HoldCo debt facility with EIG, which supports acquisitions, late stage development, and portfolio growth (with expansion capacity). Combined with earlier growth equity, S2G Investments (late 2023) and Climate Adaptive Infrastructure plus Kimmeridge (mid 2025, which also supported the U.S. Light Energy acquisition adding >250 MW of near term pipeline), the company reports total capital raised exceeding $1.7 billion.
What is 38 Degrees North?
Founded in 2015 in Sausalito, California, 38DN operates as a development partner, capital partner, asset owner, and operator focused on development stage and construction ready distributed generation and community solar (self developed or acquired via partnerships). It also holds battery storage and other sustainable infrastructure.
Key metrics cited in connection with the announcement and company materials:
- Over 100 projects and ~500 MW under construction or operating.
- Advanced pipeline of 250+ MW targeted for construction over the next 24 months.
- Strong concentration in New York (historically one of the largest community solar portfolios, with prior tax equity including a Starbucks-backed fund) and expanding Illinois presence (including a prior 104 MW acquisition from Cypress Creek).
- Activity also spans Massachusetts, California (behind the meter solar + storage), Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota.
- Supporting figures from company disclosures include substantial construction costs under management, tens of thousands of community solar subscribers, multiple tax equity and term debt financings, and developer partner relationships.
The platform emphasizes execution consistency, long term ownership/operations, data driven asset management, and flexible capital structures (tax equity, back leverage, construction facilities, etc.).
At $260 million, the facility ranks among the larger recent U.S. debt financings for community solar and sits in the upper percentile of recorded U.S. debt rounds in the sector, signaling institutional appetite for well structured credit backed by developers with proven delivery records.
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New York leads in installed community solar capacity; Illinois benefits from the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) framework supporting ongoing project pipelines and incentives aligned with the state’s 100% renewable target by 2050. Both markets prioritize subscriber savings and local generation.
Oversubscription and participation by a diversified lender group (Apollo affiliate, Canadian bank, investment bank, specialty finance, mission oriented banks, and equipment finance) reflect confidence in 38DN’s credit profile, project readiness, and market selection. Ralph Cho (Apterra Co-CEO) highlighted demand for “well structured community solar credit with developers who demonstrate consistent execution.” Ryan Bennett (38DN Partner) emphasized the dual benefit of the Apterra construction facility plus the EIG HoldCo facility for converting queues into operating assets.
Capital Stack Evolution and Execution Readiness
The sequence, growth equity (2023–2025), EIG HoldCo debt (August 2026), and this project level construction facility, creates layered financing: HoldCo for acquisitions/development flexibility and project debt for construction of specific, permitted assets. This reduces reliance on single source capital and supports scale-up of the 250+ MW near term pipeline while advancing the existing ~500 MW operating/construction base.
38DN’s track record includes repeated tax equity and debt financings, portfolio acquisitions (e.g., Massachusetts origins, New York build-out, Illinois expansion, U.S. Light Energy), and operational ownership. The facility strengthens its ability to act as both aggregator and owner operator in competitive, queue constrained markets where capital availability and execution speed differentiate winners.
The $260 million facility materially advances 38DN’s capacity to deliver community solar capacity in high activity states, reinforces institutional validation of its platform, and positions the company for continued portfolio expansion amid sustained demand for distributed clean energy that delivers direct customer savings.
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