Keppel to develop H2-ready IPP

Vietnam’s Ministry of Transportation has been tasked with studying a proposal to upgrade the Na San Airport in Son La province, under a public-private partnership (PPP) framework. The proposal, made by the Son La People’s Committee, splits construction into two phases and is estimated to cost about US$130.43m. The first phase involves civil works that include land clearance and the second involves improvement to the airport terminals, which is likely to be led by the private sector. Preparation works may take one year, which will be followed by...

Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) has awarded two waste-to-energy projects to Chinese developers, finally taking a step forward with its plan to harness energy from the massive amount of solid waste the country generates. Both were awarded on a build-own-operate (BOO) basis. BPDB awarded the first WtE project to Chinese developer China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) in December last year. A number of agreements were signed and these included a waste supply agreement, land use agreement and power purchase agreement. CMEC formed...

The Japanese government, through the Organization for Cross-Regional Coordination of Transmission Operators (OCCTO), has issued a tender to develop onshore wind farms for a total capacity of 1.3GW. The bidding in the current fiscal year to March 2023 will be based on a feed-in tariff (FiT) but the government plans to introduce a feed-in premium (FiP) in the next fiscal year. It has set an initial bid ceiling of ¥16 per kWh (US$0.1143/kWh) and the power purchase agreement will be for 20 years. The onshore wind farm is expected to commence...

Three additional global players in the offshore wind industry have staked a claim to Australia’s nascent market while an international advisory firm has also arrived on Australia’s shores, all preparing for when the market takes off. RES from the UK, Equinor from Norway, and DP Energy from Ireland all announced during August that they will invest in projects in Australia, and consultancy Green Giraffe has established an office in Sydney. The federal government is expected this year to formally declare the first offshore wind zone in waters...

Deutsche Telekom (DT) subsidiary Magenta Telekom will partner with asset manager Meridiam on a €1bn fibre roll-out in underserved areas of Austria. The joint venture will target the roll-out of fibre-to-the-home to more than 650,000 homes in rural areas and medium-sized towns over the next six years. DT in July picked Meridiam as preferred bidder for the joint venture (see PFI 726). The two investors in the JV will contribute €150m, with an approximately €700m debt package to be raised for the roll-out. “The financing of the expansion costs...

Tokyo Electric Power Company subsidiary TEPCO Power Grid UK has acquired NeuConnect minority shareholder FI1’s stake in the 1.4GW UK–Germany undersea interconnector. NeuConnect sponsors Meridiam (53.5%), Allianz (26.2%) and Kansai Electric (18.3%) in July reached close on more than €2.5bn of debt financing the project’s construction (see PFI 726). Minority shareholder FI1 had a 2% stake in NeuConnect with an option to upsize to 6.5%. The FI1 vehicle is owned by developer Greenage – which kick-started the early-stage development of the project...

AES Corporation is planning to develop a 4GW offshore wind project off the province of Binh Thuan in Vietnam, according to reports. The project is estimated to require investment of US$13bn. However, developers of renewable energy projects are still waiting for the Vietnamese prime minister to approve and issue the final version of its Power Development Plan VIII (PDP8) and to know the feed-in tariffs (FiTs) for projects that have achieved commercial operation date (COD) after the October 31 2021 deadline. The completed farms were eligible to...

Glennmont Partners-backed independent power producer (IPP) BNZ is in advanced discussions with financing institutions to project-finance its 473MW solar photovoltaic (PV) portfolio in southern Spain. Glennmont and BNZ will initially finance construction with equity, Glennmont’s spokesperson said. An initial 74MW across two PV plants in the Cadiz region are ready for construction, with Grupotec providing EPC services. A power purchase agreement (PPA) for the two plants is being progressed in tandem with the project finance but there is also...

SkyX Solar, a joint venture of Vietnam’s VinaCapital and EDF Renewables, will be developing a rooftop solar project at Green Park Vinh Phuc, an industrial estate being developed by Nam Binh Xuyen Green Park Co of the YSL Group of South Korea. The park is located 18km from Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on investment cooperation for green energy construction in Green Park Vinh Phuc was signed by the involved parties. The park will be developed in two phases and is targeted to be complete in...

Engie and EDPR’s 50:50 joint venture Ocean Winds and CDC’s Banque des Territoires have raised a €300m debt package backing their 30MW Golfe du Lion floating wind project off the French coast. Lenders include Credit Agricole CIB, Santander, Mizuho, KfW IPEX-Bank and the European Investment Bank (EIB). The package consists of a €60m uncovered tranche, according to a source, with Danish export credit agency EKF guaranteeing a further DKr447m (€60m) of the financing for CACIB, Banco Santander, and KfW IPEX-Bank. All three sponsors together took...

The Infrastructure Ministry has given logistics and transport group Ferrovia Transnordestina Logistica (FTL) approval to issue infrastructure debentures to finance the company’s cargo rail upgrade programme. The FTP Project 2023–2026 programme will see a raft of upgrades on the company’s network in the north-east, including remodelling of the railway, new rolling stock, and construction of administration facilities, among other works, in the states of Maranhao, Piaui, and Ceara. FTP is a subsidiary of steel and mining giant CSN Group and won...

Deloitte has bid the cheapest in the tender for the advisory services on DEWA's next solar project procurement at Dh4.364454m (US$1.18m). EY bid Dh4.413m, PwC bid Dh4.589144m and KPMG bid Dh5.45967m. The scheme will be the sixth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park and have a capacity of 900MW. The site is due to have a capacity of 5GW by 2030. The current capacity is 1.6GW and a further 1.2GW is under construction.

The concession contract has been signed on the US$730m, 150,000-cubic-metres-per-day Al Wakrah and Al Wukair sewage treatment plant (STP) and associated pipeline project. The shape of the winning consortium has changed since the initial bid was submitted in August 2020. Metito has been joined in the consortium by local company Al Attiya Motors & Trading Company and Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC), with Mitsubishi and UCC dropping out. Despite the rise in construction costs and interest rates this year, the price agreed on the scheme at the...

Japanese energy company Eneos plans to develop a 8.5MW solar power plant at its refinery in Arida municipality, Wakayama prefecture in Japan. The project will be located on the extra land at its refinery, which is scheduled to be closed down in 2023. The solar plant is targeted to commence operations in August 2023. Eneos aims to be carbon-neutral by 2040. It had total domestic green generation capacity of 663MW as of end of June 2022 from part of the assets acquired from Japan Renewable Energy (JRE). Of this, solar energy makes up 486MW...

PetroVietnam is planning to develop a refinery and petrochemical complex in collaboration with a national oil reserve warehouse with an estimated investment requirement of US$19bn. The company plans to conduct a feasibility study that is targeted to be completed by December 2023. It then will make its investment decision in the first quarter of 2024, to be followed by the selection of engineering, procurement, and construction contractors, according to reports. Construction of the complex is aimed to be completed by December 2027. The complex...

Reliance Power has signed a memorandum of understanding to borrow up to Rs12bn (US$150m) from alternative credit firm Varde Partners. Reliance Power said the proceeds would be for settlement and discharge and/or acquisition and restructuring of certain financial debt. Reliance Power, part of the Reliance Group private Indian conglomerate, has a portfolio of coal, gas, hydro and renewable energy with roughly 5.95GW operational capacity.

The Philippine Department of Transportation is studying possible rail connections to two towns in Bulacan province – Santa Maria and Norzagaray. According to Undersecretary for Railways Cesar B Chavez, there are three possible ways. One is requesting San Miguel Corp, the developer of MRT-7, to extend its project from San Jose del Monte to Balagtas, passing through the said towns. Another way is to conduct another study, maybe for NCR, that will include the two towns, and the third option is teaming up with a private company under a...

Tenaga Nasional and Petroliam Nasional (Petronas) are planning to conduct a joint feasibility study on hydrogen and carbon capture projects. The decarbonisation efforts would be achieved mainly through a collaborative study to develop a green hydrogen ecosystem and carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, leveraging both organisations' technical expertise and resources, according to a statement. They aim to repower the retired 1.4GW combined-cycle gas-fired power plant, the Sultan Ismail Power Station (SIPS) in Paka, Terengganu, by using...

The 1.2GW Nghi Son 2 coal-fired power plant (CFPP) has achieved its commercial operation date (COD) this week, four years after construction commenced in 2018. The plant will use supercritical technology that will allow “the efficient combustion of coals and low gas emissions”, said Vietnam’s deputy prime minister Le Van Thanh during the inauguration of the plant. "Nghi Son 2 Power should put occupational safety and health top of its agenda and, at the same time, strictly comply with environmental standards,” he said, according to local media...

J-Power and state-owned Vietnam Forestry Corporation (Vinafor) plan to jointly explore opportunities to develop biomass businesses in Vietnam and have signed a memorandum of understanding. J-Power intends to enter the biomass power generation sector in the country. Vinafor manages approximately 43,000 hectares of forests and works in afforestation, manufacturing of industrial wood board and interior/exterior furniture for export, and trading of wood products.

A class action lawsuit has been filed against New York-listed Indian renewables developer Azure Power Global and certain current and former top executives, after its share price collapsed amid concerns over governance and employee misconduct. The lawsuit, brought in the Southern District of New York court, alleges that Azure Power made materially false or misleading statements and failed to properly disclose material adverse facts about the company’s business, operations and prospects. The Gilbert vs Azure Power Global lawsuit is on behalf of...

Five Japanese companies – erex Co, Kyudenko Corp, JA Mitsui Leasing, Chuo-Nittoki Group and Manies Group, are joining Taiwanese firm WG Manies Solar Energy in the development of an integrated aquaculture and 55MW solar power generation project in Taiwan. The project is being jointly developed with Taiyen Green Energy (TGE), which is a subsidiary of formerly government-run and now privatised salt manufacturer Taiyen Biotech Co. WG Manies’ project sites have been certified as special zones for this integrated aquaculture and solar power...

KKR has launched its third infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) in India, the Highways Infrastructure Trust (HIT), which is due to raise about Rs19.6bn (US$245m) of long-term debt including Rs10bn of long-term bank facilities and Rs9bn of non-convertible debentures, according to CRISIL’s rating report for HIT. From fiscal 2025 HIT would raise a further Rs4bn of debt over six years. The debt would refinance HIT's special purpose vehicles’ project debt. CRISIL, S&P's India affiliate, has assigned an AAA provisional debt rating. KKR has not...

Global Infrastructure Partner (GIP), formerly wpd Taiwan, and local developer Lealea Group are believed to have received approval for their 300MW Haixia offshore wind farm (OWF) under Round 2 bidding for offshore wind farms. The project is said to have replaced the 350MW Guanyin project that was cancelled due to aviation concerns as it was deemed too close to Taoyuan airport. Taiwanese authorities have been in discussion with other potential developers, which included Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG) for their Formosa 3 project. GIP and...

Oman backed Tanweer Consortium has bought Sembcorp's 2.64GW of coal-fired power generation assets for US$1.5bn, a 1x multiple on book value of the assets. The Tanweer team is made up of Oman Investment Corporation (OIC) with 70%, the Ministry of Defence Pension Fund (MODPF) 20%, and Dar Investment 10%. The deal will be backed by a US$1.5bn deferred payment note (DPN) from Sembcorp priced at an interest rate per annum equal to 1.8% plus a benchmark rate equal to the Indian government 10-year bond yield spot rate minus a greenhouse gas (GHG)...

Lenders to the 22-year NT$153.14bn (US$5bn) debt financing facility being raised for the development of the 1,044MW Hai long offshore wind farm are said to be seeking higher margins as interest rates and the cost of funds have been going up. One banker told PFI that interest rates have climbed since the deal hit the market. The official launch of the invitation to participate was made at the end of July when the US Federal Reserve had just raised rates for the fourth time this year, up to 250bp from a mere 25bp in January. The Hai Long loan...

Endeavour Energy is running a syndication to raise at least A$400m (US$272m) of debt, reports Refinitiv LPC. MUFG is sole mandated lead arranger and bookrunner. The loan has tenors of seven, 10 and 12 years, priced at 135bp, 165bp and 175bp over BBSY, respectively, and commitments are due by mid-September. Borrower Network Finance Co has a Baa1 rating from Moody’s. Endeavour Energy owns an electricity distribution network serving 2.5 million people in New South Wales. It is owned through a 99-year lease by a private consortium of Macquarie, AMP...

AEMO Services has opened registration for the round one tender of New South Wales' long-term energy service agreements (LTESAs). The tender is due to be launched on October 4 with a bid closing date of October 28. AEMO Services, the NSW government-appointed consumer trustee, will arrange meetings with eligible proponents that register. In July, AEMO Services published draft rules for the tender. LTESAs are 20-year option contracts for exercising cash-settled swaps for renewable energy generation and 14-year annuity top-up contracts for energy...

Global Power Generation, a joint venture between Naturgy and Kuwait Investment Authority, has acquired the Cunderdin solar and battery project in Western Australia. The project will have a 125MWdc/100MWac battery and a 55MW/220MWh battery energy storage system. The seller is original developer Sun Bred Power, based in Perth. Construction is expected to start in Q4 2022, for commercial operations in Q1 2024. Chinese company Sungrow is due to manufacture and supply the battery. The construction contractor was not disclosed. The project is due...

Danish hydrogen mobility company Everfuel is planning to build a 100MW green hydrogen electrolyser in Holstebro. Everfuel chose the location due to the municipality having the second highest levels of wind and solar power production in Denmark, giving it significant power-to-X potential. The company is planning a two-phase development where an initial phase, to be commissioned in 2023, will study production of e-methane from hydrogen and the transport of hydrogen in existing natural gas pipelines. A second phase will see the 100MW...

Germany's Federal Network Agency BNetzA has awarded 201MW of rooftop photovoltaic (PV) capacity at an average price of €88 per MWh in its latest tender. Bids ranged from €82/MWh to €89/MWh, with the result representing a price increase from €85/MWh in the previous tender held in April. The tender was undersubscribed with 106 offers accepted and 766.66MW of capacity up for offer to be installed on buildings and noise barriers. The April tender awarded 203.5MW in comparison. BNetzA is targeting the award of 2.3GW of capacity in 2022 with the next...

Swedish renewables utility Karlstads Energi and Danish hydrogen mobility company Everfuel are partnering to explore development of 100MW of green hydrogen production capacity. The companies have signed a memorandum of understanding and will conduct a commercial and technical feasibility study for an initial 20MW of electrolysers in Karlstad, Varmland. The planned facility will produce green hydrogen for the industrial and mobility sectors as well as providing excess heat to Karlstads Energi’s local district heating system. Phase one is expected...

Danish power producer Orsted has acquired a 65MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Cork from developer Terra Solar. The Ballinrea project is Orsted’s first PV plant in the country and is expected online in 2025. The project may secure a route to market through future rounds of Ireland's renewable electricity support scheme (RESS) auction, or a corporate power purchase agreement, Orsted's spokesperson said. Orsted typically builds on balance sheet, the spokesperson added. Orsted is aiming to expand its global portfolio to a 50:50 mix of wind...

Brookfield and KKR-backed renewables developer X-Elio will invest almost €100m to build a 120MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project in Villena, Alicante. Spain’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition recently granted a favourable environmental impact assessment for the CSF La Atalaya project. Brookfield and KKR each hold 50% stakes in X-Elio. The company is active in Spain, France, Italy, the Americas, South Africa, Kuwait, Australia and Japan. X-Elio in May raised a €27m debt package from Sabadell for a 50MW solar PV plant in Almeria.

Diamond Transmission Partners has won the largest offshore transmission owner (OFTO) scheme to be tendered so far, the 1.2GW Hornsea 2, beating Equitix/Tepco and Transmission Capital Partners. HICL joined Diamond on the bid. It will take a 75% stake in the Hornsea 2 scheme. The deal should close in H1 2023. HICL has been involved in Diamond OFTO schemes in the past but not on the most recent, the 1.2GW Hornsea 1 project that was financed in early 2021 with Mitsubishi HC Capital and Chubu Electric as partners. JBIC financed the Hornsea 1 OFTO...

UK renewables developer Hive Energy has sold three development-stage solar photovoltaic (PV) plants in Spain totalling 64.53MW to an undisclosed buyer. The portfolio comprises the 31.99MW Rocio project in Almonte, the 24.7MW Palma plant in La Palma del Condado, and the 7.84MW Pedregal plant. Hive will continue to work alongside the new owner to continue the plants’ development through to construction. Rocio is already at the ready-to-build (RTB) stage with the other two set to reach RTB before the end of the year. Hive is developing a 379MW...

Commonwealth LNG has signed a binding agreement to sell 2.5m tonnes of LNG per year to Australian company Woodside from its proposed 8.4mtpa export facility in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. The deal was first announced in January. Energy trader Gunvor has agreed to buy 3mpta from the project and help find other buyers. The project sponsor, led by former American Ref-Fuel and Fluor executive Paul Varello, has hired SMBC as financial adviser. It will use a fully modular design and construction approach for its liquefaction trains and auxiliary...

Aboitiz Group is investing Ps25bn (US$438.6m) to acquire GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp (GMCAC), a joint venture between Megawide and GMR Airports International (GAIBV) that owns and operates Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA). Megawide Construction disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange that it has signed a share subscription and transfer agreement with Aboitiz InfraCapital (AIC), the infrastructure unit of Aboitiz Group. Initially, AIC will spend Ps9.5bn to purchase primary and secondary shares from Megawide and GAIBV to own 33.3%...

Aboitiz Power Corporation is partnering with Singapore-based Climate Capital Management and US-based RMI, to conduct a feasibility study to develop up to 3GW of offshore wind projects in the Philippines. The study is funded by the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), and a grant signing was held recently in Manila. The feasibility study aims to advance existing research on offshore wind power and will include an assessment of the wind resource and identification of competing development projects, among others, according to a...

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments & Aviation (MOTIA) Chester Cooper has appointed a seven-member board of directors for the newly established Freeport Airport Development Company (FAD) as a part of the government’s plan to rebuild and manage the Grand Bahama International Airport (GBIA) as a public-private partnership. FAD will be the government entity overseeing the management and redevelopment of the GBIA. The recently tapped board will serve as the evaluation committee of proposals shortlisted for the PPP to...

Local power company YPF Luz has closed two dollar-linked negotiable obligation bond deals for a total of US$100m to be used for working capital and refinancing outstanding corporate bonds. One tranche of the deal was for US$15m with a two-year tenor and pricing of –4%, while the other tranche was for US$85m with a four-year tenor and pricing of 0%. The deal saw US$285m in demand. Banco de Galicia y Buenos Aires, Banco Santander, Banco Macro, Banco Supervielle, BNP Paribas Sucursal Buenos Aires, Macro Securities, Industrial and Commercial Bank...

Local company Scala has brought online the SP4 data centre at its Tambore campus in Sao Paulo. The SP4 project has a contract with an unnamed company. This phase is the first 6MW of IT power capacity planned at the site, with the company expecting up to 87MW of projects to come online in the next year. The next 6MW phase will be brought online in September. The company has big plans in the region with 32MW of projects planned for Mexico, Chile, and Colombia that will be launched by the end of 2023. By then, it will have 340MW of capacity....

The Neuquen Investment Agency (ADI NQN) is conducting social and environmental studies for a potentially 5MW pilot geothermal plant in the province, which would be built at the foot of the Domuyo volcano near Aguas Calientes. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is financing the drilling programme, while ADI NQN has also requested more funds for the electrical infrastructure. Overall costs for the pilot plant will be US$35m. The preparatory studies are expected to take about a year. If the pilot is successful, the group has plans to...

Rio de Janeiro-based power company Eneva has closed its purchase of the 327MW Central Geradora Termeletrica Fortaleza (CGTF) gas-fired IPP in Ceara from Enel Brasil for R$564m (US$112m). The purchase price includes R$467m upfront plus up to R$97m based on performance. The sale is a part of Enel’s carbon-neutrality plan to obtain zero emissions by 2040 and to triple its renewables capability globally by 2030, it said. The project is located at the Pecem industrial complex. Rio de Janeiro-based power company Eneva has closed its purchase of the...

The Ministry of Transport has launched the first tender as part of the mega railway public-private partnership (PPP) that will connect the Bahia Blanca port in Buenos Aires with the Vaca Muerta shale play. The tender is for a railway yard 12km from the Neuquen town of Anelo and is the first of the works along the route to be tendered. Overall, the railway will require more than US$900m in investment, split between the public and private sectors. The railway will run for 847km and will carry LNG from the shale play to export ports. Reports...

Renewables developer Arevon Energy has obtained a US$400m two-year loan from CIBC and KeyBank to back its 6GW solar and energy storage project portfolio in the Midwest, Southeast, and California. The facility has a hybrid borrowing base, comprising uncalled capital with an additional net asset value (NAV) component. Stoel Rives represented Arevon as legal counsel and Mayer Brown was lender counsel. Earlier this year, Arevon sold a 540MW solar development portfolio in southeast Illinois to Sol Systems. Arevon is constructing the 300MW...

Canada’s Revolve Renewable Power Corporation has closed its purchase of 100% of Centrica Business Solutions Mexico, owner and operator of a seven-project distributed generation solar portfolio. The portfolio includes six operating schemes with a combined 2.85MW capacity and one 3MW project expected to be operational during H1 2023. Revolve is paying Ps29m (US$1.4m) for the projects, financed by a C$1.6m (US$1.23m) secured loan from RE Royalties and the remainder with cash. The loan has a two-year tenor and is repayable at maturity with a 10%...

Vancouver-based Los Andes Copper has agreed a US$5m convertible debenture deal with Queen’s Road Capital backing expansion drilling and a pre-feasibility study at its Vizcachitas copper project. The debentures will have a five-year term, an 8% coupon, and will be convertible into common shares in the capital of Los Andes at a price of C$16.75 (US$12.86). The interest is payable quarterly – 5% in cash and 3% in shares at the election of Los Andes – at the 20-day volume weighted average price prior to the interest payment date. Closing of the...

The Chilean Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Economy have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Hamburg Port Authority and representatives from the city for the export of green hydrogen from Chile to Europe. “Our objective is to jointly create the necessary conditions for the early export/import of hydrogen and its derivative products to Hamburg and Central Europe and promote the rapid development of a self-sustainable hydrogen market in both regions,” said Claudio Huepe, Minister of Energy of Chile. Hamburg is Europe’s...

AIM-listed miner Chariot and French independent power producer (IPP) Total Eren have signed a 50:50 partnership agreement to start feasibility studies for the Nour green hydrogen project in Mauritania. The firms expect the plant to reach up to 10GW electrolysis installed. The consortium will assess project development and permitting, stakeholder engagement and local content. Other hydrogen schemes planned in Africa include Hyphen, the US$10bn Enertrag-Nicholas Holdings joint venture (JV) initiative in Namibia; Fortescue Future Industries'...

Laura Bijl has been appointed managing director, head of project finance within corporate financing at Dutch bank ABN AMRO. Bijl takes the managing director position after almost a year and a half as executive director, head of PF, in the bank’s Amsterdam office. She is not taking over the role from a previous head as she already fulfilled the position but only for corporate and institutional banking, ABN’s spokesperson said. ABN AMRO in October announced plans to streamline its organisation and now has three client units instead of four...

Turkish renewables developer Adnan Polat Enerji Yatiririm (APEY) has closed a US$267m long-term senior project and capex financing package backing the development of 203MW renewables projects. The company and the EBRD anticipated in June the refinancing of APEY's US$285m debt. The funding includes a nine-year US$100m term loan from the EBRD. The remaining US$176m is a commercial tranche comprising a term loan and an export credit agency (ECA) facility from Turkiye Is Bankasi (Isbank), Turkiye Sinai Kalkinma Bankasi (TKSB) and Garanti BBVA....

Equinor's Helge Haugane must be a fun guy. He told Reuters yesterday that European energy firms, excluding those in the UK, need €1.5bn to cover their exposure to margin calls in the marketplace and rising gas prices. Equinor is, of course, a (Norwegian) state owned company but he suggested Europe needs a lot more government intervention to ensure the market is operating properly. "The market can function a lot better than what it is doing right now further out in the curve because people don't have enough liquidity to play," he said at the...

Ghanaian ship builder Prime Meridian Docks (PMD) is lining up US$75m of syndicated project financing to develop its maritime infrastructure. African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has committed US$50m of senior debt towards the funding. Proceeds are to build and operate a ship repair and maintenance station at Takoradi port in Ghana, estimated to cost US$120m. Additional lenders lining up financing are reported to be African Development Bank (AfDB) and UMB Bank, according to local media quoting project coordinator Maria Ogbugo. ...

Cypress Creek Renewables has closed on a US$216m financing for its Zier solar and storage project in Kinney County, Texas. NordLB served as coordinating lead arranger, with Rabobank, National Bank of Canada, and the North American Development Bank (NADBank) also in lead arranging roles. The financing includes a construction-to-term loan, tax equity bridge loan and letter of credit facilities. NADBank previously signed off on a US$46.9m loan backing the project, which comprises the design, construction, and operation of a 208MW solar farm and...

Corio Generation, part of Green Investment Group, and TotalEnergies are joining SK Ecoplant to develop the BadaEnergy offshore wind portfolio in South Korea. The BadaEnergy portfolio comprises more than 2GW of floating and fixed-bottom offshore wind farms off the coast of Ulsan and South Jeolla province. It includes the 1.5GW Gray Whale project, which is expected to become one of the world’s largest floating offshore wind developments. Four of the five wind farm projects in the portfolio have so far been granted electric business licences (EBLs...

Carbon capture developer Climeworks has signed a 10-year carbon removal agreement with Swiss bank UBS. The guaranteed demand indicated by the increasing number of long-term agreements is “key to catalyse financing of infrastructure and accelerate growth”, Climeworks said. Climeworks will capture an undisclosed amount of carbon on behalf of UBS using a combination of its Orca and Mammoth plants. Orca is a 4,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) plant that became operational in September while Mammoth is a 36,000tpa plant with construction beginning in July...

Australian listed construction contractor Decmil is in arbitration processes with the Sunraysia Solar Farm and the inverter supplier Schneider Electric over delays at the 200MW project in New South Wales. Substantial completion was achieved in January this year, after it was due in 2019. Decmil said in its annual report that the dispute over its A$277m (US$191m) head contract with the solar farm may be resolved on a commercial basis and/or through formal dispute proceedings, but the outcome is uncertain and “may result in the company not...

The Philippines’ Department of Energy (DOE) has set up a Law & Energy Advisory Panel (LEAP) that will advise it on energy law reform and other energy related legal matters. The panel will review the legal issues surrounding the Malampaya gas-to-power project, which meets 20% of the country’s power requirements. The DOE has approached former Supreme Court chief justices Artemio Panganiban and Reynato Puno to join the LEAP panel. “Retired Chief Justice Panganiban and Retired Chief Justice Puno have kindly agreed to be the co-chairs of the DOE’s...

Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) of Sri Lanka has launched two separate tenders for a total of 130MW of solar power plants. One is a tender for the development of a 100MW solar park project in Uva Province. It is being offered on a build-own-operate (BOO) basis that includes financing, supply, building, testing, commissioning, operation and maintenance. The tender also includes the construction of a 132kV transmission line. The solar farm will be built on leased land in the Siyambalanduwa department of Moneragala District in Uva province. The...

FCC Environment has started preliminary construction work on its 300,000-tonnes-per-year 25.5MW waste-to-energy (WtE) project at Greengairs in North Lanarkshire. FCC said the first phase of construction comprises ground preparation and stabilisation, involving removal of soil, preparation of a development platform and grouting old mine-working. The preliminary work will last until June, when construction of the main facility will start. The announcement came as a surprise in the Scottish waste market as little has been heard of the project...

Solar Energy Corp of India (SECI) has tendered for 2.25GW of round-the-clock power from renewable energy projects coupled with any other power or energy storage sources. This is SECI’s third RTC auction. Bids for the RTC-III auction are due by October 10. A pre-bid meeting is scheduled on September 13. The request for selection document states that the bidder is responsible for land and connectivity to the interstate transmission system. The minimum bid capacity is 250MW, except for in north-eastern states and special category cases where it is...

Tata Power is raising a debut US$320m sustainability-linked loan (SLL), reports the Economic Times of India. Bank of America is leading the loan, which will be used to refinance subsidiaries and expand existing power generation plants. The loan has two tranches, one of which is a term loan from Bank of America and the other is a club loan from Bank of America and SMBC. Tenors are around three years and pricing is due to be 125bp–150bp over SOFR, according to the paper. The loan has interest cost incentives related to not expanding in thermal...

North Queensland Airports has raised a sustainability-linked loan arranged by CBA, NAB and Westpac. Details of the loan were not disclosed. CBA and Westpac were joint sustainability coordinators. North Queensland Airports Group operates Cairns Airport, Mackay Airport and Mackay Airport Hotel. Its shareholders are Macquarie-managed The Infrastructure Fund (TIF), Perron and IIF Cairns Mackay Investment. The loan includes a biodiversity target focused on species conservation, which the banks says is understood to be the first in Australian...

The New South Wales government has awarded A$45m (US$30.5m) of grants to five pumped hydro projects in the state with almost 1.75GW of combined capacity. The funding will provide pre-development capital, and will be repaid if a project gets to financial close. The winners are EnergyAustralia’s 335MW, eight-hour Lake Lyell project; the 600MW, 12-hour Oven Mountain pumped hydro; Origin Energy’s 235MW, 24-hour Shoalhaven Hydro Expansion; ATCO’s 325MW, eight-hour Central West Pumped Hydro; and AGL Energy’s and Idemitsu’s 250MW, eight-hour...

Alternative investment asset manager Golding Capital Partners has held the final close for two of its infrastructure funds with commitments totalling €1.5bn. The Munich-headquartered manager’s flagship fund Golding Infrastructure 2020 closed at €943m compared with a target of €700m and the Golding Infrastructure Co-Investment 2020 closed at €578m. Around half of the contributions were from existing investors, with the other half from new investors. The fund of funds has so far committed to eight investments in primary funds, co-investments...

Indian renewables developer O2 Power has acquired a 55MW portfolio of solar farms from Emmvee Photovoltaic Power, an Indian solar panels manufacturer. The solar farms are in Karnataka and Telangana. They provide power to state distribution companies and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, an Indian multinational pharmaceuticals company. O2 Power founder and chief operating officer Peeyush Mohit said: “The Emmvee acquisition marks our foray not only into Karnataka and Telangana but also the beginning of our relationship with Dr Reddy’s… We will continue to...

UK-based Amber Infrastructure and Netherlands-based DIF Capital Partners have agreed to acquire freight rolling stock company Rail First Asset Management (RFAM), backed by debt from three banks. The enterprise valuation is about A$425m (US$289m), which is around 10x Ebitda. ING, NordLB and Siemens are providing the debt for RFAM, which is non-recourse to the shareholders. The banks are experienced in the rail leasing sector in Europe. The seller is Australian private equity firm Anchorage Capital Partners. Amber is investing with separately...

Scatec subsidiary SN Power, France's EDF and the IFC have signed a binding agreement with the government of Malawi to develop the 350MW Mpatamanga hydropower plant under a public-private partnership (PPP). The consortium was the only one to have submitted a binding bid last year for the project. The project cost is estimated to be US$1.1bn. The World Bank's IDA has committed US$300m in total, and the IFC will provide US$150m. SN Power's financiers include Norway's development finance institution (DFI) Norfund and UK DFI British International...

Eight banks have closed the financing for Hamburg-based fibre provider Deutsche GigaNetz. They include ABN AMRO, ING, KfW IPEX, Kommunalkredit, LBBW, NatWest, NordLB and SEB. DWS recently took a significant stake in the company, and existing investor InfraRed Capital Partners has increased its stake in the company. “The investment commitments will further increase our capabilities to grow beyond our initial business plan, which was based on a €3bn investment programme with the ambition to connect more than 1m households with pure FTTH," said...

The German government’s planned windfall tax on electricity producers to fund a €65bn relief package will lead to market distortions, Germany’s Renewable Energy Association (BEE) said. The taxes will target electricity producers making “excessive” profits, according to Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and will reduce the cost of gas, coal and oil for consumers. Although some energy companies don’t use gas to generate electricity, they can still benefit from selling power at higher prices due to the market price being set by the cost of gas....

H2 Green Steel (H2GS) has raised €190m in new equity via a Series B financing round to help fund its €2.5bn large-scale production site in Boden. The equity round was co-led by new investors AMF Pension, GIC and Schaeffler alongside existing investor Altor Equity Partners. H2GS’s founder Vargas Holding, along with existing shareholders such as Kingspan Global, FAM, Marcegaglia, the IMAS Foundation, related to the IKEA chain, as well as Cristina Stenbeck and music streaming service Spotify’s co-founder Daniel Ek, have provided new equity. New...

Japan’s Ministry of Economy Trade & Industry (METI) has concluded its 13th solar power auction, awarding 10 projects with feed-in premiums (FiPs) and 18 projects with feed-in tariffs (FiTs). It secured 14.32MW of capacity at an average FiP rate of ¥9.81 (US$0.0716) per kilowatt hour and 11.86MW with an average FiT rate of ¥9.79 per kWh. Winning bidders include Tess Engineering, Promedia Co, Merci Co, Wako Co and Sakuramichi Co with FiPs; and Ark Co, Clean Energy, OR Solar Power, Maruyama Construction and others with FiTs.

London-listed infrastructure investment company HICL, managed by InfraRed Capital Partners, has agreed to acquire a 45.75% stake in Texas Nevada Transmission (TNT) from Manulife Investment Management and John Hancock entities. The TNT stake includes interests in two transmission projects, one in Texas and one in Nevada. Cross Texas Transmission is a transmission utility that operates using a cost-of-service recovery model and is regulated by the Public Utility Commission of Texas. It comprises approximately 289 miles of 345kV transmission lines...

South Africa's National Energy Regulator (Nersa) has registered 35 distributed energy projects with a total capacity exceeding 400MW. The projects are the first to be registered under the recent reform by the government allowing distributed generation projects, including large-scale ones, to go into registering without a licence. The projects benefiting from the new scheme include eight renewables developments with a total capacity of 399.6MW, each above 10MW, and 27 smaller projects of 10MW or less. Among the large-scale projects are the 100MW...

Indonesia’s state utility PLN is seeking requests for proposals (RFP) to develop a 70MW wind farm project in Tanah Laut, Kalimantan. It is understood that PLN has received three proposals, and they are from Adaro Power with Total Eren; Vena Energy; and a consortium led by China Guodian. Total Eren was earlier thought to have been appointed but the Adaro team is now said to be the frontrunner. The new plant will supply power to the new capital city Nusantara in Kalimantan. PLN also plans a 50MW solar power plant as well as a 1GW hydropower plant...

Norwegian export credit agency (ECA) Export Finance Norway (Eksfin) is providing NKr1.2bn (US$119m) in financial risk reduction to Norway's Scatec for the development of its Kenhardt solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery storage projects in South Africa. The project will have a solar capacity of 540MW and battery storage capacity of 225MW/1.14GWh. Scatec closed financing in July for the R16.4bn (US$959.6m) Kenhardt 1, 2 and 3 PV plants, which it is developing under South Africa's risk mitigation independent power producer procurement programme...

Temasek Holdings of Singapore and HSBC have launched Pentagreen Capital, a debt fund that focuses on sustainable infrastructure projects, with an initial focus on South-East Asia. The fund starts with capital of US$150m, coming from the two partners with US$75m each. They aim to have US$1bn of loans within the next five years. Pentagreen will help accelerate the development of sustainable infrastructure in the region by “removing the barriers that can prevent marginally bankable projects from accessing capital”, it said in a statement. It added...

Technical advisory firm Mott MacDonald has appointed Jarrad Pilkington as energy strategy and policy leader and Peter Barnard as technical director for energy. Both are based in Adelaide, South Australia. Pilkington joins from the Australian Energy Market Operator, where he was manager of energy policy. Before joining AEMO in 2018 he was chief of staff for South Australian energy minister and treasurer Tom Koutsantonis for two years, during which time there was a state-wide blackout and subsequent energy plan roll out that led to development of...

Rio Tinto has agreed a deal to buy all the remaining shares it does not own in Turquoise Hill Resources for US$3.3bn, which would give Rio a direct majority shareholding in the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine project in Mongolia. The latest proposal values 100% of the equity of Toronto Stock Exchange-listed Turquoise Hill at C$8.7bn (US$6.6bn). Rio Tinto, which already owns 51% of Turquoise Hill shares, has raised its proposal to C$43 per share, up from C$40 per share on August 24 and the initial rejected proposal of C$34 per share in March....

Macquarie Group’s asset management business has appointed Gianluca Ricci as a managing director in the company’s new Milan office. Ricci will be responsible for reviewing investment opportunities, leading engagement with key stakeholders and managing Macquarie Asset Management’s investment portfolio. Ricci has more than 20 years of experience in corporate finance. He joins from CDP Equity, the equity investment arm of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, where most recently he was head of investments and equity portfolio management. He has previously...

DLA Piper has appointed two partners and a special counsel in Perth, all experienced advisers in energy and natural resources sectors. Owen Alcorn joins as partner in the finance, projects and restructurings practice from Herbert Smith Freehills in London. He will be focused on supporting the mining industry, as well as advising lenders and sponsors on infrastructure and renewables projects. He is an experienced adviser in project finance, acquisition finance and corporate finance. Matthew Watkins joins as partner in DLA Piper’s corporate...

Goldwind has issued a teaser for the sale of its equity stakes in the 528MW Stockyard Hill wind farm and the 20MW White Rock solar farm, both in operation. Goldwind owns 51% of Stockyard Hill in Victoria, and Nebras Power owns 49%. Lazard is advising. Stockyard Hill entered the commissioning phase in July 2021 and is generating at full capacity. White Rock solar, near Glenn Innes in New South Wales, entered full operations in 2019 and is fully owned by Goldwind. The estimated construction cost for Stockyard Hill was A$700m (US$476m). The...

Santos has agreed to delay drilling at the under-construction US$3.6bn Barossa offshore gas project off the Northern Territory, while the Federal Court of Australia conducts a hearing for an appeal against the project from Tiwi Islanders. Tiwi senior lawman Dennis Tipakalippa has sued federal offshore gas regulator NOPSEMA over its approval of the Barossa project, alleging that proper consultation did not take place with the Munupi clan. The project’s operator commenced initial drilling last month, but has not yet reached the gas reservoir....

MUFG has made two senior appointments to grow and strengthen the bank’s corporate and investment banking franchise in Asia-Pacific. Randy Loo has been appointed head of global corporate banking, Singapore, leading coverage and development of the bank’s Singapore-based global corporate client portfolio. Loo, who has almost 30 years of experience, joins from Bank of America and reports to Richard Yorke, head of global corporate & investment banking for Asia-Pacific. Frik Dreyer has been appointed head of leveraged and acquisition finance,...

Palisade Impact’s first fund has raised more than A$400m (US$276m) in the first close, including co-investment accounts. The open-ended fund will target solutions to environmental and social challenges, investing in infrastructure-like assets and businesses providing essential services. Palisade Impact is part of boutique Australian infrastructure fund manager Palisade Group. Some of the investors in the impact fund are longstanding clients of Palisade Investment Partners. The manager said: “Palisade Impact will take a cross-sector approach...

Australia-headquartered global fund manager IFM Investors has appointed Luba Nikulina as its inaugural chief strategy officer, based in London. She will lead development of IFM's global strategy with a focus on private markets solutions. Nikulina joins from consultancy WTW, formerly Willis Towers Watson, where she was global head of research from 2019 based in London. She joined WTW in 2005 in private markets and was global head of private markets from 2011 to 2014. IFM said: “In line with IFM’s collaborative approach, Nikulina served on the UK...

The Philippines’ Department of Public Works & Highways (DPWH) has appointed Australia-based SMEC as transaction adviser to conduct a feasibility study on the proposed Central Luzon Link Expressway (CLLEX) Phase II, which will link Cabanatuan City to San Jose City in Nueva Ecija. CLLEX Phase II has been identified by the new administration as one of its priority public-private partnership projects for implementation. The project cost is estimated to be at least Ps9.24bn (US$164.4m), split into construction costs of Ps9.19bn and right of way...

Keppel Asia Infrastructure Fund (KAIF) and Keppel Infrastructure are jointly acquiring an 80% stake in 800 Super Holdings, a Singaporean environmental services company. William Lee, 800 Super’s co-founder and CEO, will hold the remaining 20% interest in the company and continue to be its CEO post-investment by the Keppel consortium. The total purchase consideration for the 80% interest is S$304m (US$218.7m). The whole asset is estimated to be worth S$380m. 800 Super is one of three solid waste management providers in Singapore approved by its...

MGen Renewable Energy (MGreen), the renewable energy investment arm of Manila Electric Co (Meralco), has formed a joint venture with Singapore-based Vena Energy to develop a 68MW solar project in Currimao, Ilocos Norte. Construction of the project has commenced and completion is targeted by the end of this year with commercial operations to begin in the first quarter of 2023. The agreement for a partnership was first announced in February this year. MGreen is looking to have a portfolio of 1.5GW of renewable energy projects in the next seven...

Semirara Mining and Power Corp (SMPC), a mining subsidiary of DMCI Holdings, is studying solar and liquefied natural gas (LNG) as possible energy sources. The company’s president and chief operating officer Maria Cristina C Gotianun told BusinessWorld that SMPC is at the preliminary stage of studying LNG and solar. The company, which explores, develops and mines coal, is planning to diversify into renewable energy (RE) sources. It has studied run-of-river hydropower, biomass, and wind technology but Gotianun said these apparently did not meet...

PH Renewables Inc (PHRI), a joint venture between MGen Renewable Energy (MGreen) and Mitsui, has secured a 15-year Ps2.65bn (US$47m) loan facility from Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) to finance the development of a 75MW solar project in Baras, Rizal. The plant is targeted to commence commercial operation in the first quarter of 2023. It will supply renewable energy to MPower, the local retail electricity arm of Manila Electric Co (Meralco). The Baras solar project will become part of Meralco’s target of building 1.5GW of renewable...

Ineos Phenol is acquiring the entire asset base of Mitsui Phenols Singapore from Mitsui Chemicals for US$330m. The company said in a statement that it has agreed to acquire the asset, which will add more than 1mtpa of capacity that includes cumene (410 ktpa), phenol (310 ktpa), acetone (185 ktpa), alpha-methylstyrene (20 ktpa) and bisphenol A (150 ktpa). “The addition of the Jurong phenol and BPA assets provides a good fit with our existing asset portfolio and expertise of Ineos Phenol and presents significant integration opportunities with our...

Kansai Electric Power has started conducting studies on the possibility of generating power by mixing natural gas and hydrogen at a thermal power plant in Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture, with an aim to be able to do so by 2030. Kansai is also including hydrogen receiving terminals and pipelines to transport the green hydrogen in its green hydrogen plan, according to Nikkei. It is looking to introduce co-firing at the LNG-fired 1.5GW Himeji No 1 and 2.9GW Himeji No 2 power plants, to be co-fired with hydrogen by 2030, and plans to expand the...

Indonesia’s Ministry of Transportation has awarded a 54-year concession to private port operator Lestari Samudera Sakti to rehabilitate, manage and operate the Balikpapan Port in East Kalimantan. The concession agreement grants rights to Lestari Samudera Sakti to carry out port exploitation activities that include the land for the Lestari Samudra Sakti Terminal, port facilities, and supporting facilities with an area of ​​39,163 square meters, according to local media. "The government hopes that the signing of the concession can improve the...

China Everbrite Water has won the 30-year concession to develop a waste-water treatment plant in Luozhuang Economic Development Zone located in Luozhuang District, Linyi City in Shandong Province, China. The plant will have a daily treatment capacity of 20,000m3 and an ancillary pipeline network of about 37.1km. China Everbrite has signed a concession agreement with Linyi Luozhuang Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau and Luozhuang Economic Development Zone Management Committee. The concession service area is west of Luoqi Road and the...