From: Mercom Capital Group

Monarch Private Capital, an ESG investment firm that develops, finances, and manages a diversified portfolio of projects, announced the closing of a tax equity investment of $160 million in the 113 MW Longbow Solar project located in Brazoria County, Texas. The facility is expected to generate clean power and stabilize energy costs for area residents and businesses.

Amp Energy, a renewable energy developer, secured financing of $155 million for its 61 MW and 6.5 MWh solar plus storage portfolio in Massachusetts and New York. U.S. KeyBank led the construction and term debt, with U.S. Bank investing the tax equity for the portfolio. This was the fourth transaction between the three parties since 2017. Of the 13 projects that make up the portfolio, the majority will reach commercial operation this year, and the rest in Q2, 2023.

MET Group, an integrated European energy company, acquired a 100% stake in 60 MW of greenfield photovoltaic development project from TOREN Spolka Aksyjna, a polish renewable project developer in Poland. With this acquisition, MET Group is growing its European renewables portfolio by expanding into the Polish market. The solar project is expected to achieve ready-to-build status in 2023. The financial details of the acquired were not disclosed.

Gurgaon-based independent power producer O2 Power announced the acquisition of a solar project portfolio from Bengaluru-based solar panel maker Emmvee Photovoltaic Power. The two solar power projects to be acquired by O2 are based in Karnataka and Telangana. They have a combined installed capacity of 55 MW, part of which supplies power to the distribution companies of the two states. The remaining capacity supplies captive power to pharmaceutical company Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories.

Encavis, an independent power producer, acquired three solar projects for a total of 48 MW in the Netherlands from BayWa r.e., a renewable service provider, energy developer, and distributor. The solar projects in Dokkum (generation capacity of 14 MW), Lemsterhoek (31 MW), and Hoogengraven (3 MW) will benefit from the Dutch SDE+ feed-in tariff scheme for the first 15 years. Hoogengraven has been connected to the grid since June 2020 and Dokkum since July 2022. The grid connection for Lemsterhoek is expected to be finalized shortly.

Encavis, an independent power producer, acquired 26 MW of Chiltern Renewables Hockliffe solar project in the UK from Industria Brand Energy Limited. The solar project in Hockliffe (around 40 miles from London) is scheduled to go online in the first half of 2023.

Sealed Air, a packaging company, invested $9 million in a solar project that is now powering its California manufacturing facility. The solar panels, which sit on 11 acres of company-owned land adjacent to the facility, are expected to help reduce energy spend at this site by $1 million annually. The company partnered with TotalEnergies to design and install the 3.5 MW ground mount solar project, which includes 8,975 solar panels and a 770 kW/3,080 kW battery storage system.

Lithuanian renewables developer Green Genius signed a loan agreement with Estonia-based lender Luminor Bank to secure €10.3 million (~$10.2m) for new solar projects in Lithuania. The renewables company said it would use the loan to build 15.7 MW of remote solar projects. Lithuania’s remote solar farm model enables consumers to use solar energy regardless of where the plant is located.

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.