The sheer scale of MUFG’s global activities in the project finance sphere is impressive, as is the list of deals it is involved with – new projects that bring economic and social benefits to the communities they serve.

In line with the global decarbonisation agenda, hydrogen atoms are now in focus and ammonia, which carries three hydrogen atoms per compound, is poised to change the world once again – towards a carbon-neutral future. By Arthur Tay, Eiko Yamamoto and Jerald Foo, project finance, Singapore; and Andrew Bedford, sector coverage, energy transition technology lead and Tetsuo Kagaya, project finance, Tokyo, MUFG.

The Japanese government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, has recognised the importance of battery energy storage system projects. By Joseph Kim, Yuko Ino and Jared Raleigh, with contributions from Stephanie Li, Motohiro Matsumura, Shuhei Mikiya and Sari Sakurai, Greenberg Traurig in Singapore and Tokyo.

Batteries are a key enabler of the renewable energy transition, but their deployment has been relatively slow in Europe until now. Surging pipelines across European markets will soon transform the revenue streams, and thus the business case, of batteries. By Micky Vriens, Green Giraffe Advisory.

After a relatively slow adoption of renewable electricity generation, Australia is quickly adding arrows to its quiver to decrease its heavy dependency on coal-fired electricity generation as quickly as possible. This article will focus on the state of the Australian storage subsector for project financiers. By Jean-Marie Verrier, head of renewables and sustainable energy, Australia, SFDA, and Jeremy Hasnip, head of energy transition, Australia, SFDA, at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.

Digital infrastructure consists of the physical network of data centres, terrestrial fibre, towers, wireless spectrum, submarine cable systems, and concomitant equipment, hardware, and software that enables the internet and telecommunications globally. Because of the centrality of the internet and telecommunications to the global economy and to society as a whole, Digital infrastructure – which has evolved considerably over the last decade – is now commonly referred to as the fourth utility. By Kemal Hawa, co-chair, digital infrastructure, data centre and cloud computing, Greenberg Traurig.

There has been a growing surge in demand for data centres, and structured financings to go with them. The structure, a mix of energy and telecom asset, is evolving and has become extremely important in our world of data and AI. By Minerva Lau.

Norton Rose Fulbright and Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank advised Ocean Winds on the financing of the Moray West offshore wind farm in Scotland. The 882MW Moray West project adopted a novel revenue stack, making it the first offshore wind farm in the UK to enter into corporate power purchase agreements for the sale of the majority of its generated power while relying on the UK contract for difference regime for a minority proportion of its power sales. By Rob Marsh and Christopher Aird, Norton Rose Fulbright, and Derek Rushgrove and Daniel Feigin, Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank.

The Dieppe le Treport, Iles d’Yeu, and Noirmoutier wind farms represent a major milestone in France’s development of the offshore wind sector. By Jerome Deflesselles, managing director, Yann Le Bot, director, and Bas Thijwissen, vice-president, natural resources and infrastructure, Societe Generale.

Higher interest rates have pushed investors toward green platforms rather than assets investments. By Alberto Cei, partner and co-founder, Ivan Aloi, partner and co-founder and Davide Petraroli, director, at SURE – Sustainable Revolution.

The United States’ clean power sector has entered a new era of growth and innovation, with project developers racing to deploy record numbers of new renewable energy projects. The economics of such projects are buoyed by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which made hundreds of billions of dollars available to the sector through tax credits, loan guarantees, and other incentives.1 By Jorge Kamine, partner and co-chair of the project finance and investment practice group, Eric Pogue, partner and global chair of power and renewable energy, and John R Thomas, partner and co-chair of the energy and commodities practice group, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.

On September 28 2023, financial close was achieved for the Hai Long offshore wind farm owned and developed by Northland Power Inc and Mitsui & Co Ltd. By Yuichiro Narita, Mitsui & Co, Daan van Alem, Northland Power Inc and Shilei Huang and Tom White of MUFG Bank.

In January 2023, the financing for the 99MW Jeonnam offshore wind project closed in South Korea. With its multi-EPC contracting set up, its full non-recourse status, its bespoke structure to meet South Korean specificities and its good mix of international and local financial institutions, the Jeonnam project financing sets a solid template for future offshore wind projects in the country. By Raphaël Chabrolle, Derrick Tan and Eana Kim, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.

The RDMP Balikpapan Refinery in Indonesia successfully achieved financial close in August 2023, making it one of the biggest project financings in Indonesia. The funds will be used to expand the refinery and its operational capacity. It is expected that Pertamina will continue on this trajectory to upgrade more of its refineries to improve efficiency and reduce emissions – undoubtedly a positive step in furtherance of the government’s net-zero emission programme. By Tim Fourteau, partner, White & Case, Gabby Wong, associate, White & Case, Fransetya Hasudungan Hutabarat, director of Finance, PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional, and Ronald Teckwani, head, natural resources, project finance team, Mizuho Bank.

German asset manager and developer Aquila Group established a new regional development platform, Aquila Clean Energy APAC, in 2020 and in just three short years has grown from developing Japanese solar assets backed by government offtakes to holding a 2.65GW development pipeline in five APAC countries. By Alexandra Dockreay.

The share of total CO2 emissions from the electricity and heat sector is currently around 50% of the EU-ETS emissions. Extensive efforts have been made over the years to reduce this share and thus reduce carbon intensity – CO2 emissions per produced kWh – in the power sector. By Ole Tom Djupskaas, market expert Nordic power, Gabriele Martinelli, head of European power, and Nathalie Gerl, lead analyst for European power markets, LSEG Power Research.

In 2023, Germany's solar sector witnessed a surge in mezzanine financing, including transactions involving independent power producers Sunfarming and Münch Energie Group. By Alexander Enrique Kuhn, managing partner, Bernhard Hofmann, director, and Jose Joaquin Muñoz Osuna, director, Capcora; and Dr Jens Golz, partner, Simmons & Simmons LLP.

The EIB Group has partnered with LBBW in an innovative synthetic securitisation transaction to support financing of new renewable energy projects in Germany and other EU countries. By Erik Welin, loan officer, EIB, and Andre Kobinger, head of structuring and outplacement, LBBW.

Buying a pan-African independent power producer with low-risk debt from local banks only might not sound intuitive but Masdar and its partners have proven it is possible. They are now readying to expand their African portfolio. By Cristiana Sandeva.

NEOM Green Hydrogen holds the honour of being the first green hydrogen project to raise billions by way of project financing after it reached financial close earlier this year. Carina Radford, Mark Andrews and Jake Seal of White & Case LLP explore the significance of the transaction at a critical point in the story of the energy transition.