The California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority (CAEATFA), chaired by State Treasurer Fiona Ma, recently approved $98 million in sales and use tax exclusions (STE) for 27 California manufacturing projects. The projects will create and support more than 9,300 jobs, provide more than $230 million in benefits to the state and local economies, and help the state achieve climate policy goals.
“The STE program continues to support companies that are investing in California’s future,” said Treasurer Ma. “These projects are making advancements in electric vehicles, computer technologies, batteries, and alternative sources of energy, while creating thousands of good jobs and boosting local economies throughout the state.”
CAEATFA can award up to $115 million in STE each calendar year to companies that manufacture alternative energy or advanced transportation related products or components, among other industries. Solar panels, lithium ZEV batteries, and biogas capture are examples of projects.
Notable projects approved include:
Joby Aero – Headquartered in Santa Cruz, the air taxi manufacturer was awarded $1.916 million in STE to expand its battery operations in San Carlos and build a new aircraft production facility in Marina. The facilities will support more than 900 construction and production jobs. Joby’s Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) Aircraft use motors that are quieter than a helicopter with flight range from San Francisco to San Jose.
Sparkz – The electric vehicle battery manufacturer was approved for $15 million in STE to scale up its facilities in Sacramento and Livermore. The projects are expected to support 737 jobs.
Biogas (multiple projects) – Nine biomethane projects have been approved for up to $6.476 million in STE to construct, expand, or upgrade plants and pipelines. Dairy biogas is captured, processed into biomethane, and converted into a renewable compressed natural gas (R-CNG). R-CNG can be substituted for diesel in a near zero-emission CNG truck or bus engine.
CAEATFA evaluates STE projects in multiple funding rounds per year, with awards based on whether there is a net benefit to the state – that the economic and environmental benefits outweigh the forgone sales and use tax.
The following sectors were allocated STE at the recent meeting: Advanced Manufacturing: $5,020,512; Advanced Transportation: $32,226,672; Alternative Source: $47,161,596; Recycling: $13,591,220; Estimated total STE $98,000,000
For a full list of approved projects, with additional details, visit: www.treasurer.ca.gov/caeatfa/meeting.
Also, Ma recently announced the results of $1.4 billion in revenue bonds for the Regents of the University of California (Regents). Proceeds of the 2024 Series BW and 2024 Series BX bonds will finance or refinance various capital projects overseen by the Regents as well as refinance existing debt. The refunding bonds will save approximately $16.8 million over the next 24 years, or $12.9 million on a present value basis.
The University of California (University) operates 10 statewide campuses, six academic health centers, and three national laboratories. Since its charter in 1868, the University has conferred approximately 2.9 million higher educational degrees. During the year ended June 30, 2023, the University provided instruction to approximately 290,000 full-time equivalent undergraduate and graduate students. The University has a reputation as a leading research institution, with affiliated researchers having been awarded 71 Nobel Prizes.
The bonds were rated Aa2 by Moody’s Investors Service, AA by S&P Global Ratings, and AA by Fitch Ratings. The all-in true interest cost was 3.31 percent. The 2024 Series BW bonds range from a yield of 2.83 percent to 3.72 percent and mature from 2025 to 2054. The 2024 Series BX bonds range from a yield of 2.83 percent to 2.91 percent and mature from 2026 to 2031.
The joint senior managers for the bonds were RBC Capital Markets and Morgan Stanley & Co. The co-senior managers were Goldman Sachs & Co. and Loop Capital Markets, with an additional 19 firms participating as co-managers.
The calendar of all upcoming state bond sales is available at BuyCaliforniaBonds.com.
Fiona Ma is California’s 34th State Treasurer. She was first elected on Nov. 6, 2018 and reelected on Nov. 8, 2022. The State Treasurer’s Office was created in the California Constitution in 1849. It provides financing for schools, roads, housing, recycling and waste management, hospitals, public facilities, and other crucial infrastructure projects that better the lives of residents. California is the world’s fifth-largest economy and Treasurer Ma is the state’s primary banker.
