From: Mercom Capital Group

Amp Power Australia, the Australian operating company of global clean energy project developer Amp Energy, closed project financing for its 120 MW Hillston Solar Farm in New South Wales, Australia. Natixis and Export Development Canada (EDC) led the project finance activity as Mandated Lead Arrangers, with Natixis being the LC Provider and Sole Hedging Provider. The project is likely to be completed in early 2022.

Vineyard Wind, a joint venture between Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), achieved financial close with $2.3 billion of senior debt to construct the Vineyard Wind 1,800 MW offshore wind project. The onshore work will begin this fall in Barnstable, with offshore work commencing in 2022.  The Vineyard Wind 1 will deliver power to the grid in 2023. Advised by Santander, the nearly $2.3 billion of senior debt also includes investments from nine banks, namely Bank of America, J.P. Morgan, BBVA, NatWest, Santander, Crédit Agricole, Natixis, BNP Paribas, and MUFG Bank.  The project’s lead financing counsel was Norton Rose Fulbright.

EDF Renewables North America (EDFR), an independent power producer and service provider in renewable energy, and MEAG, an asset management company, announced a strategic investment whereby a subsidiary of Munich Re will acquire a 50% stake in two renewable energy projects in California. The Maverick 6 Solar-plus-Storage Project is 131 MWdc coupled with a 50 MW/200 MWh battery energy storage system. The Maverick 7 Solar Project has a capacity of 179 MWdc. The projects are located adjacent to Riverside County on federal lands and will likely commence operations in December 2021.

New Energy Equity (NEE), a solar projects developer based in the U.S., has secured a $50 million unitranche revolving loan facility. Silicon Valley Bank and SVB Capital, financial partners in the renewable energy and technology industry, led the round. The developer will use the facility to build community solar projects of 60 MW or more in New York and other markets. The facility covers a significant portion of the project’s construction and financing expenses. It allows the company to meet its working capital needs while also allowing for asset flexibility, subject to lender approval.

CVE Chile, a subsidiary of independent power producer of renewable energy projects CVE Group (CVE), closed a $95 million senior secured facility. The funding is for a portfolio of solar PV projects in Chile with an expected capacity of 150 MW. Natixis acted as the sole lead arranger, hedge provider, LC issuing bank, and administrative agent. CVE’s portfolio consists of solar projects under Chile’s special regime for distributed generation projects (PMGD).

Canada-based holding company ATCO acquired a 39 MW photovoltaic solar project under construction in Alberta. ATCO purchased the development rights to the project, Empress Solar Project, from a third-party developer through Canadian Utilities Limited. The project will use around 85,000 bifacial solar panels connected to a single-axis tracking system to supply enough renewable electricity to power more than 11,000 houses yearly, offsetting 43,000 tons of CO2. The project has secured its primary permits, with commercial operations expected to commence in 2022. The agreement’s financial details are undisclosed.

NextPower III ESG, the international solar fund of NextEnergy Capital (NEC), signed an agreement to acquire a 42.3 MW solar PV project portfolio in Poland. This marks NPIII ESG’s first acquisition in Poland. The project is expected to be completed in Q4 2021. Green Genius (part of Modus Group), a developer of renewable energy projects, developed the portfolio.

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 project finance brief.