Arevon Closes $120 Million Wells Fargo Tax Equity for Illinois Solar

• Arevon closed a $120 million tax equity commitment from Wells Fargo for its 124-MWdc Big Muddy Solar project in Jackson County, Illinois.
• The deal follows a $183 million debt package in February; Illinois utility-scale solar grew 53% in the year to August 2026, EIA data show.
• Big Muddy, Arevon's first utility-scale plant in Illinois, is slated to start commercial operation by the end of 2026.

Arevon Energy closed a $120 million tax equity commitment from Wells Fargo for Big Muddy Solar, a 124-MWdc project in Jackson County, Illinois. The Scottsdale, Arizona-based developer announced the deal on Oct. 27. It is Arevon's second tax equity transaction with the bank.

In a tax equity deal, an investor with a large tax bill funds a project in exchange for most of its tax benefits. At Big Muddy, those are depreciation and investment tax credits, Arevon said.

The commitment follows a $183 million debt package that Intesa Sanpaolo and Crédit Agricole provided in February. It combined a tax equity bridge loan, a construction-to-term loan and a letter of credit. Arevon put the plant's cost at nearly $200 million in November 2025.

Signal Energy is building the plant. Its output goes to an unnamed American multinational technology company under a long-term virtual power purchase agreement. Arevon has not disclosed module or tracker suppliers.

Illinois solar is growing fast. The state had 5,249 MW of utility-scale PV in August 2026, 53% more than a year earlier, EIA data show.

The Big Muddy deal in numbers

• $0.97 per watt-DC of tax equity at Big Muddy, versus $0.58 for Wells Fargo's $250 million in Arevon's 430-MWdc Kelso project in Missouri (list.solar calculation).
• About 60% of the plant's nearly $200 million cost is matched by the tax equity commitment (list.solar calculation).
• About $1.60 per watt-DC is Big Muddy's cost (list.solar calculation). Berkeley Lab puts the 2025 U.S. utility-scale average at $1.31/WDC ($1.69/WAC).
• More than 24,000 Illinois homes can be powered by the plant's yearly output, Arevon says.
• More than $12.6 million in property taxes over the plant's life, for schools, roads and other local needs.

Big Muddy is Arevon's first utility-scale project in Illinois. The company owns and operates more than 6.3 GW of solar and storage in 18 states. In Illinois it is also developing the 200-MWac / 275-MWdc Panther Energy Project, which holds three 20-year renewable energy credit contracts.

"This latest tax equity commitment with Wells Fargo reflects the strength of our longstanding partnership and Arevon's track record of executing complex transactions," Arevon Chief Investment Officer Denise Tait said in a statement.

Construction began in 2025, and more than 250 workers built the plant. Arevon expects Big Muddy to reach commercial operation by the end of 2026.