From: Mercom Capital Group

AES Indiana, a subsidiary of the AES Corporation, is to acquire the Hardy Hills 195 MW solar project in Clinton County, Indiana. Construction on the project is expected to begin in the fall of 2021 and reach commercial operation in 2023. AES Indiana received approval from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) on the transaction.

Macquarie Asset Management announced a €90 million (~$108 million) debt investment in a portfolio of concentrated solar power (CSP) portfolio, located in Andalusia, Spain. The portfolio comprises the 20 MW Gemasolar tower plant and two 50 MW parabolic trough solar parks, Valle 1 and Valle 2. The portfolio has been in operation since 2011, and its owner Q-Energy, a European renewable energy asset manager, has a track record in operating solar photovoltaic farms, CSP plants, and wind parks in Spain, Germany, and other OECD countries.

Diode Ventures (Diode), a Black & Veatch company that develops global infrastructure projects, announced that it had reached financial close on the 140 MW Grizzly Ridge solar project located in Hamilton County, Texas. The project was co-developed with RKB Energy. The project is construction-ready, with an executed interconnection agreement with Brazos Electric Cooperative, the transmission service provider.

ACME Solar has signed a shareholders’ agreement with UNOPS S3i and IFU for developing a 250 MW solar project located in Rajasthan, India. The project’s total value is just under $200 million, and a quarter of it would be financed through equity contributions by the three co-investors. UNOPS Sustainable Investments in Infrastructure and Innovation (S3i) aims to become a co-investor and channel private financing in regions and sectors such as renewable energy that have struggled to attract capital.

EnfraGen, a developer, owner, and operator of renewable projects and owned by Glenfarne Group, on behalf of its clients, announced a $200 million non-recourse financing for EnfraGen’s greenfield solar PV portfolio in Chile, with an option of an additional $40 million upsizing via an accordion feature. The transaction was executed through EnfraGen’s renewables division, Fontus Renewables. The proceeds from the financing will be used to fund the construction, acquisition, operations, and maintenance of projects totaling approximately 237 MW(DC)/175 MW(AC). Lenders financing the transaction include Banco de Crédito e Inversiones (BCI), BNP Paribas, DNB Bank, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. BCI also provided VAT financing for Fontus Prime Solar.

Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG) has acquired a portfolio of development-stage utility-scale, distribution-connected battery storage projects in the U.K. from Capbal Limited (Capbal). GIG and Capbal will partner to deliver an initial 187 MWh of late-stage development projects and grow the portfolio through the acquisition and development of additional projects. The acquisition was delivered by GIG’s energy technology team, which specializes in financing technology solutions critical to the energy transition, including grid-scale storage, distributed energy, and fleet electrification.

Solar Choice has reached completion on the purchase of an additional 75% stake in the multi-staged 2,000 MW Bulli Creek Solar Farm & Energy Storage project in southern Queensland. Having previously retained a 25% interest in the project it originated in 2013, Solar Choice now fully owns the development. The site is located on the Queensland NSW Interconnector 4 km south of a major 330 kV substation west of Toowoomba.

The Tanzanian government signed a €130 million (~$157.6 million) loan agreement with the French Development Agency (AFD) to finance the construction of the 150 MW solar power project in Kishapu. The project located in the Shinyanga region in northern Tanzania will be implemented in two phases, between March 2022 and March 2023. In addition, AFD is providing an additional €7 million (~$8.4 million) in financing for this plant’s feasibility study, which will be located in Kishapu, a district in the Shinyanga region in northern Tanzania.

Matrix Renewables, an investor in renewable energy, has entered into an agreement with Alten Renewable Energy to acquire a 300 MW solar portfolio across Spain and Portugal. The portfolio, which comprises five different assets with a capacity of 300 MW, includes 210 MW of solar PV in Spain and 90 MW in Portugal. Construction in the first phase of these projects is expected to begin in 2021.

BP PLC’s subsidiary Lightsource bp, a solar project developer, has acquired a pipeline of three solar projects in Aragon, Spain, totaling 703 MW of generation capacity. The solar energy company, which is 50% owned by BP, said the portfolio was acquired from Grupo Jorge and the three projects will be brought to construction in 2022. The deal takes Lightsource’s project pipeline in Spain to over 3 GW.

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

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Image credit: Amplus Solar