Zelestra, a renewable energy project developer, has secured $181 million in green project financing for its 136 MW Skull Creek solar project in Anderson County, Texas. Natixis Corporate and Investment Banking arranged the financing facility.

Sybil Milo Cioffi, Zelestra’s U.S. CFO, said, “We’re scaling fast in the U.S., with over 2 GW contracted and around 1 GW in construction today. Working with tier-one financing partners such as Natixis CIB is a strong signal of where that momentum is headed — their support reflects real confidence in our execution track record and our growth trajectory in this market.”

The Skull Creek solar project is under construction and is expected to begin commercial operations by the end of 2027. Zelestra said the project’s construction will support approximately 200 jobs and generate an estimated $8.2 million in economic impact for Anderson County.

The company said the project is backed by a long-term power purchase agreement identified as the Meta PPA Skull Creek. Zelestra and Meta currently have power purchase agreements for approximately 1.2 GWdc of solar capacity across seven projects in the U.S., all of which are scheduled to reach commercial operations by 2028.

The project forms part of Zelestra’s renewable energy development portfolio in the U.S. The Arlington, Virginia-headquartered company said it is developing a pipeline of approximately 16 GW across several U.S. markets.

Previously, in 2026, Zelestra secured a $600 million green financing credit facility with Société Générale and HSBC for the 252 MW Echols Gove project in Lamar County and the 187 MW Cedar Range solar project in Hopkins County in Texas.

Announced large-scale solar project funding increased by 71% in the first half of 2026 compared with the funding raised in the same period in 2025, according to Mercom’s recently released 1H and Q2 2026 Solar Funding and M&A report.