KBRA Comments on Amendment to Sunnova’s Loan Guarantee Agreement with DOE

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In an 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 29, 2025, Sunnova Energy Corporation (Sunnova) disclosed that it had amended its Loan Guarantee Agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on May 22, 2025. The amendment reduced the maximum aggregate amount of partial guarantees from $3.0 billion to $371.6 million. This is equal to the total partial guarantees previously issued for Sunnova's two solar loan ABS transactions under Project Hestia: Sunnova Hestia I Issuer, LLC, Series 2023-GRID1 and Sunnova Hestia II Issuer, LLC, Series 2024-GRID1.

KBRA currently maintains ratings on two classes of notes issued from the two transactions. Each has a Class 1-A tranche that benefits from DOE guarantees covering both principal and interest payments. On May 2, 2025, KBRA affirmed its ‘AAA (sf)’ ratings on each of the Class 1-A notes, as well as its ‘BB (sf)’ ratings on the Class 2-A notes of each transaction.

Although the amendment reduced all remaining capacity of its partial loan guarantee to Sunnova’s Project Hestia, it does not affect the existing guarantees provided by the DOE to the two transactions referenced above. As such, KBRA does not expect this amendment, in and of itself, to affect the existing ratings of the two transactions.

KBRA previously alerted the market to Sunnova’s going concern issue in a press release published on March 4, 2025, and will continue to monitor developments related to Sunnova’s financial health, potential manager transitions, and the performance of Sunnova transactions.

Related Publications

• KBRA Monitoring Sunnova Transactions Following Going Concern Warning
• Sunnova Helios & Sunnova Hestia Solar Loan Backed Notes Comprehensive Surveillance Report
• Sunnova Hestia I Issuer, LLC, Series 2023-GRID1 New Issue Report
• Sunnova Hestia II Issuer, LLC, Series 2024-GRID1 New Issue Report

About KBRA

KBRA, one of the major credit rating agencies, is registered in the U.S., EU, and the UK. KBRA is recognized as a Qualified Rating Agency in Taiwan, and is also a Designated Rating Organization for structured finance ratings in Canada. As a full-service credit rating agency, investors can use KBRA ratings for regulatory capital purposes in multiple jurisdictions.

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