From: Mercom Capital Group

Sunseap Group, a Singapore-based renewable solutions provider, has secured an $85.8 million loan for its 70 MW SolarNova 4 project to install solar PV systems across more than 1,200 public housing blocks and 49 government sites. DBS Bank and UOB will each provide half the loan amount utilizing Sunseap’s Green Financing Framework. Facebook previously signed a Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) with Sunseap to purchase renewable energy credits (RECs) from the excess energy generated from solar panels in the SolarNova 4 project. The surplus solar energy from these sites is exported to the power grid, and the RECs are sold by Sunseap to Facebook under the private VPPA deal.

SUN Energy, a commercial & industrial solar company in Indonesia, has signed a binding agreement to acquire 100% of the assets of the 132 MW (100 MWac) Merredin solar project from Risen Energy. The project has been operational since August 2020 and connected to the Western Power Merredin Terminal Substation at 220 kV. The project has obtained development approval to deploy up to 20MW / 40 MWh of a Battery Energy Storage System on-site, which will help stabilize the grid system in Western Australia and create additional revenue streams. SUN Energy was advised by Voltiq (financial) and DLA Piper (legal) on the transaction, while Risen Energy was advised by Holding Redlich (legal).

ILI Group has sold the 50 MW Auchteraw battery storage project near Fort Augustus in Scotland to Field for an undisclosed price. ILI Group is behind plans for 3 GW of energy storage projects in the U.K., which will bring 2 GW of pumped storage hydro and 1 GW of battery storage to the market. The new transaction will increase ILI’s funded battery projects to 250 MW, with a further 750 MW being prepared for the market over 2021-2022.

The Japanese listed company Nippon Koei Co., via its 100% owned subsidiary Nippon Koei Energy Europe, and Aquila Capital announced the financial close for a 25 MW/100 MWh grid-scale battery energy storage system in Ruien, Belgium. The completion of the project is foreseen in Q4 2022.

Alliant Energy, a public utility holding company, intends to acquire 200 MW of solar energy and 75 MW of battery energy storage from Phase I and II of the Duane Arnold solar project. The project will be developed by wholly-owned, indirect subsidiaries of NextEra Energy Resources in Linn County, Iowa, U.S.

Amp, an energy transition platform and renewable energy developer has closed financing on its $106.5 million New York portfolio of wholly-owned community solar plus storage projects. The portfolio consists of five separate community solar projects, including three sites paired with battery storage, located throughout central New York State. The 40 MW of solar generation will be fully contracted upon completion by a mix of residential and commercial customers. Amp executed a tax equity agreement with Advantage Capital and a debt financing agreement with CIT’s Power and Energy Business to finance the portfolio.

Japanese listed company Nippon Koei, via its 100% owned subsidiary Nippon Koei Energy Europe, and Aquila Capital, reached the financial close for a 25 MW/100 MWh grid-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) located in Ruien, Belgium. Nippon Koei, lead developer of the project, and Aquila Capital have agreed to jointly finance the procurement, final development, and operation of the BESS. YUSO BV, which initiated the project in 2018 and worked alongside Nippon Koei as co-developer, has been appointed optimizer for the BESS for the next ten years.

Greenbacker Renewable Energy, an owner and operator of sustainable infrastructure and energy efficiency projects announced that it had purchased a 15-project solar portfolio from NextSun Energy. The NextSun operating portfolio, which totals 19.5 MWdc of clean power–generating capacity, expands Greenbacker’s footprint in New England and includes the company’s first asset in Rhode Island (North Smithfield, 1.1 MWdc).

Total Eren, a renewable independent power producer, announced its entry into the Cambodian renewable energy market through the acquisition of a 73.9 MW PV project named ‘Battambang’ from Risen Energy, a Chinese developer active in R&D and PV panels manufacturing. The PV farm is currently in operation in the Battambang Province, Northwest Cambodia.

German regional energy supplier Mainova has acquired nearly 25% of a 175-MW solar project which will be built next year in Brandenburg. The Frankfurt-based company will market the green electricity produced by the subsidy-free facility, estimated to amount to 180 million kWh per year, Mainova. Located some 100 km (62.14 mi) north of Berlin in the Boitzenburger Land municipality on 160 hectares (395.4 acres), the solar park will supply about 64,000 households and cut carbon emissions 85,000 tons annually. The final construction permit is expected at the beginning of 2022.

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.