From: Mercom Capital Group

Sunnova Energy International, a residential solar and energy storage service provider, announced the pricing of its securitization of leases and power purchase agreements. The single-tranche securitization consists of $319 million in A- (sf) rated 2.58% notes at a 76.4% advance rate, representing a spread to the benchmark swap rate of 140 bps. The A-rated notes carry a weighted average life of approximately 7.46 years through the anticipated repayment date of April 30, 2031, and have a final maturity of April 28, 2056. The notes are backed by a diverse portfolio of over 20,900 solar rooftop systems distributed across 18 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Northern Mariana Islands. The weighted average customer FICO score of the related customers at the time of origination is approximately 740.

Heliogen, a renewable energy company that has embarked on a project that uses solar energy to produce carbon-free energy for high-temperature heat, power, and green hydrogen applications, raised $108 million in two funding rounds to accelerate the global deployment of its Sunlight Refinery technology. Among the new investors in Heliogen are ArcelorMittal, a steel and mining company, Edison International, scientific start-up-focused venture capital firm Prime Movers Lab, Canada-based privately held venture capital fund Ocgrow Ventures, A.T. Gekko, a private investment group specializing in ESG Venture Capital, private investment partnership of industry-leading families 8090 Partners, Gordon Crawford, and technology, consumer, and media-focused investor Rashaun Williams.

Taiwan’s Foxconn said a subsidiary had invested T$995.2 million (~$36 million) in Gigasolar Materials to develop electric vehicle battery materials. Foxconn said the investment via a private placement through a Taiwan-based subsidiary will make it the second-largest shareholder in Gigasolar, known for manufacturing solar cell materials. The two companies will jointly develop materials for electric cars, Foxconn said.

Solid Power, a producer of all-solid-state batteries for electric vehicles, and Decarbonization Plus Acquisition Corporation III (DCRC) announced a definitive agreement for a business combination that would result in Solid Power becoming a publicly listed company. Upon closing the transaction, the combined company will be named Solid Power. Its common stock and warrants are expected to trade on NASDAQ under the new ticker symbol ‘SLDP’ and ‘SLDP WS’, respectively. The company will continue to be led by Solid Power’s existing management team.

Octopus Renewables Infra, a UK-based closed-end investment company, announced a proposed issue of ordinary shares of one pence each in the company to raise gross proceeds of approximately £100 (~$141) million. The Issue will be by way of a placing, open offer, offer for subscription, and intermediaries offer for a target issue of up to 96,551,724 ordinary shares at an issue price of 103.5 pence (~$145) per ordinary share. The issue price represents a premium of 6.3% to the NAV per ordinary share as of March 31, 2021 (unaudited) and a discount of 3.5% to the closing price per ordinary share on June 9, 2021, of 107.2 pence (~$150) per ordinary share.

US solar developer and clean energy solutions provider CI Renewables announced that effective January 2020, it purchased 100% stake KDC Solar from Diamond Castle Holdings and members of management of KDC Solar. CI Renewables will continue the work of KDC Solar and pursue the development of commercial and industrial solar and other renewable projects in selective states in the U.S.

Nordic Solar, a Denmark-based developer, and owner of solar projects, announced it is combining its two investment arms with its management company into a single entity that will try to reach 1 GW of capacity by 2025. The three firms, namely Nordic Solar Energy, Nordic Solar Global, and Nordic Solar Management, will merge into a joint public limited company called Nordic Solar A/S, which will have annual revenue of €40 million (~$48 million) and a balance sheet total of €535 million (~$639.05 million). The move will create significant optimizations for the financing of the company’s projects.

Renewable’s developer Berkeley Energy has raised €130 million (~$157.5 million) in the first close of the Africa Renewable Energy Fund II (AREF II). The fund, which has a final target of €300 million (~$358.35 million), will target investments in hydro, wind, and solar projects across sub-Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa, and aims to back mid-sized grid-connected projects of between 10-100 MW.

NextEra Energy Partners announced the pricing of $500 million in aggregate principal amount of its 0% convertible senior notes due 2024 in a private placement to qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The offering is expected to close on June 17, 2021, subject to customary closing conditions. The notes will not bear regular interest, and the principal amount of the notes will not accrete.

DroneBase closed its $12.5 million Series C round of investment led by Union Square Ventures with support from Upfront Ventures, Hearst Ventures, and Valor Equity Partners. The round brings the company’s total funding to date to $37.5 million and caps 18 months of expansion, which saw the company add solar and wind capability and grow its renewables customer base to 37 GW in 10 countries.

Meyer Burger, suppliers of machinery and system solutions for the solar industry, closed a syndicated loan agreement for €125 million (~$151 million) and a factoring agreement for €60 million (~$72 million). The debt financing of €185 million (~$224 million) serves to expand the annual production capacity to reach 1.4 GW of solar cells in Thalheim (Bitterfeld-Wolfen), Germany, and 1 GW of modules in Freiberg, Germany. Meyer Burger is no longer planning to sell solar cells to third parties but will instead process all solar cells from its production into modules.

Caban Systems, a manufacturer of software-enabled energy storage and management systems for the telecommunications industry, announced an investment from Ember Infrastructure (Ember), a private equity platform delivering capital solutions to businesses that reduce carbon intensity and improve resource efficiency. The investment includes an initial backing of $35 million for identified growth initiatives and an agreement for Ember to provide incremental funding for EaaS engagements.

For reports and trackers on funding and M&A transactions in solar, energy storage, smart grid, and efficiency sectors, click here.

Read last week’s funding roundup.