Blue Moon Solar Wins Financing, Ignites Kentucky's Renewable Energy Momentum

• Recurrent Energy secures USD 260 million to build the 94-MW Blue Moon Solar farm in Harrison County, Kentucky, targeting a 2026 start under a Constellation power deal.

Kentucky’s bluegrass will soon glint with a different hue as Recurrent Energy, the utility-scale arm of Canadian Solar, locks in the cash to raise its first project in the state—the 94-MW Blue Moon Solar farm in Harrison County. The developer confirmed on Thursday that the venture has cleared its biggest hurdle, securing a combined construction-loan and tax-equity package worth USD 260 million from US Bancorp Impact Finance, a subsidiary of US Bank.

The funding green-lights full-scale construction on more than 700 acres of gently rolling pasture between Lexington and Cincinnati. Recurrent says the single-axis-tracking array will begin feeding power into the PJM-connected grid in 2026, after which the company will remain owner-operator for the long haul. Power and renewable-energy certificates are already spoken for: retail giant Constellation has signed a long-term offtake deal, a move that helps the Baltimore-based supplier meet surging customer demand for carbon-free electrons.

While 94 MW may sound modest beside Texas and California behemoths, Blue Moon carries outsized symbolism. Kentucky still draws nearly three-quarters of its electricity from coal, yet the state’s solar pipeline has quietly swelled to more than 2 GW. Recurrent’s arrival adds heavyweight credibility to that momentum and promises steady local dividends—construction wages, lease income for landowners and a new stream of property-tax revenue for Harrison County schools.

The project also caps a busy month for Recurrent. Just days ago, the Oakland-based developer flipped the switch on Papago Storage, a 1,200-MWh battery complex outside Phoenix. Taken together, the twin milestones hint at a strategic pivot: pairing geographically diverse generation with storage to serve corporate buyers hungry for around-the-clock clean power.

In a statement, Recurrent called the Blue Moon financing “a vote of confidence in both Kentucky’s solar resource and the bankability of our growing U.S. portfolio.” US Bancorp Impact Finance echoed that sentiment, noting the deal advances its goal of mobilising USD 50 billion for sustainable projects by 2030.

If construction keeps pace, Blue Moon will be harvesting sunlight before Kentucky’s famed summer hay season of 2026—lighting up tens of thousands of homes and giving the coal heartland a fresh chapter in its energy story.