CIT Group Inc. announced its Power and Energy business served as coordinating lead arranger on a $323 million refinancing of the Coso Geothermal power facility in Southern California.

Originally developed in 1987, the 142-megawatt Coso Geothermal facility has been a steady source of renewable power for the Southern California region for more than three decades. The Coso site is considered one of the top three producers of geothermal electrical power in the United States.

CIT arranged the financing on behalf of project sponsor Avenue Capital and its wholly owned asset manager Middle River Power, and other co-owners Bardin Hill, Corre and Voya investment funds. The project is supported by three separate power purchase agreements that enable the delivery of Coso’s reliable baseload geothermal-generated electricity to customers.

“Southern California is a strong market for the kind of clean, renewable power generated by the Coso facility,” said James Suehr, Chief Financial Officer of Middle River Power. “With this financing in place, Coso remains on track to continue delivering renewable electric power to the region for many years to come.”

“Geothermal is a valuable source of renewable power, especially because of its unique ability to generate electricity around the clock," said Mike Lorusso, Managing Director and Group Head for CIT's Power and Energy business. "We are proud to continue our relationship with Avenue Capital and Middle River Power by arranging this financing for the Coso project, and we look forward to continuing to support their financing needs in the future.”

CIT consistently ranks among the nation's top lenders for renewable energy projects, as reported by market research firm Inframation, an Acruis company. Earlier this year, CIT also was recognized as Renewable Energy Lead Arranger of the Year by Power Finance & Risk, a top energy industry trade publication.