EIB and EVN talk renewables

London-listed Oracle has completed its technical and commercial feasibility study for a proposed green hydrogen and ammonia project in Pakistan. The project is being developed by Oracle Energy, a joint venture of Oracle and PetroChina International (Middle East) Co (PCME). The partners have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation and joint development and commercialisation of the project. Under the MoU, PCME has a right of first refusal to enter into a contract to purchase all or part of the green hydrogen and carbon credits...

Avaada Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with Tata Steel Special Economic Zone for developing a green hydrogen and ammonia manufacturing project in Odisha in the Gopalpur Industrial Park. The project aims to reduce nearly 2m tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. The group is an integrated green energy developer headquartered in Mumbai with business lines in renewable energy generation, solar module manufacturing, green hydrogen and its derivatives, and electrolyser manufacturing. Avaada has a roughly 4GW renewable energy portfolio...

Dexus has partially refinanced the Royal North Shore Hospital PPP in Sydney, raising a A$450m (US$289m) long-term social loan from MUFG and Westpac. The new fully amortising loan has a 13-year tenor and replaces a maturing A$440m bullet debt tranche. The latest loan removed all future refinancing risk for the remaining life of the PPP concession. MUFG and Westpac were joint social loan coordinators for the refinancing. The Royal North Shore Hospital project debt was last refinanced in 2019 with A$930m of debt featuring 17-year and seven-year...

Thai leading power developer Gulf Energy Development is said to be raising funds to finance development of a gas-fired power plant, believed to be the Burapa Power project in Thailand. GED holds a 35% stake while the bigger 65% portion is held by National Power Supply (NPS), another leading power developer in the country, which currently has 11 operating power plants with a combined capacity of 770.7MW with biomass as the main fuel. The Burapa plant, which has a 540MW capacity, will be built in Phanom, Sarakham, Chachoengsao. Project company...

Solar Energy Corp of India (SECI) has issued a tender for 1.26GW of firm and dispatchable renewable energy in the FDRE-IV auction. Soft copy bids are due by November 10. The projects must connect to the interstate transmission system. Energy storage systems must be part of the project and must be charged using renewable energy. The minimum bid size is 50MW up to a maximum of 630MW. Projects can be anywhere in India and the energy storage and generation can be co-located or at different locations. The FDRE-III tender was for 800MW, with soft...

Bharti Airtel has agreed to buy stakes in two renewable energy projects owned by Continuum Green Energy and Vibrant Energy, and will purchase energy from the assets to power six data centres. The two project companies are Continuum MP Wind Farm Development and Egan Solar Power. Airtel will buy a stake in Continuum MP Wind Farm in Madhya Pradesh, using the wind farm to power its Edge data centres in the state. Airtel will buy a stake in Vibrant’s Egan Solar Power to power one of its Edge data centres in Vijaywada. Vibrant is owned by Blueleaf...

Malaysia’s Sarawak state is in talks with Singapore regarding the supply of up to 1GW of renewable energy to the city state by 2032. The talks are led by Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) which is partnering with Singapore’s Sembcorp Industries. The parties are working towards a power exchange agreement, and are finalising the technical and commercial terms for the export of energy, SEB group chief operating officer James Ung Sing Kwong told The Straits Times on the sidelines of the Sustainability & Renewable Energy Forum in Kuching, Sarawak. The 1GW...

Energy platform Atmos Renewables has refinanced the 90MW Karadoc solar farm, which it acquired from BayWa re last month, through an increase in Atmos’s platform financing facility after lenders stepped up their commitments. Grant Samuel and White & Case advised. The portfolio financing facility was an A$852m (US$546m) green loan raised in February with three and five-year tranches from CBA, DBS, DNB, HSBC, ICBC, MUFG, NAB, RBC and Westpac that refinanced all the fully owned assets in Atmos’ portfolio. NordLB provided a A$95m senior loan in...

State-owned green bank New Zealand Green Investment Finance (NZGIF) has raised NZ$170m (US$101m) of capital from investors that it will use to provide fixed-rate long-term debt for solar projects. First Sentier Investors invested NZ$90m, and Natixis Investment Managers invested NZ$80m. Natixis IM said it invested on behalf of managed funds and a Hong Kong-based insurance company. The funds will be used for the new NZGIF Solar Finance programme. The first loan the programme will provide is for solarZero for its residential solar portfolio....

Indian conglomerate Shapoorji Pallonji and Malaysian oil and gas services company Bumi Armada have reached financial close on a US$948m 8.5-year project finance facility to refinance the Armada Sterling V floating production, storage and offloading vessel offshore Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. Proceeds have repaid a US$930m bridge loan facility from a syndicate of banks that matured in June. The US$948m PF loan was arranged late last year by Bank of Baroda with a syndicate of banks and signed on April 13, priced at 305bp over SOFR. It matures...

Grok Ventures, an investment company of billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes, has completed the acquisition of SunCable and its Australia-Asia Power Link project, after buying SunCable out of receivership. Grok Ventures CEO Jeremy Kwong-Law said: “Once all milestones are reached and we reach financial investment decision [FID], we have a high conviction that large institutional investors and debt providers will fund the capital expenditure to construct the project.” The project website says it will generate A$8bn (US$5.14bn) worth of investment...

Tilt Renewables has selected Fluence to build and maintain the 100MW/200MWh Latrobe Valley battery energy storage system stage one project under a 20-year long-term service agreement. Fluence, which is based in the US and owned by Siemens and AES, will provide its Gridstack technology, Mosaic bidding software and Nispera asset performance software. Fluence said this will be the first project globally to deploy its full product ecosystem. The Latrobe Valley BESS is Tilt’s first battery. Construction is due to commence in Q4. Victorian...

Australian renewables developer Edify Energy is seeking debt and equity financing for the 370MWh Koorangie battery project in Victoria with ICA Partners as adviser, reports AFR. The project has a 125MW 20-year system support contract with the Australian Energy Market Operator and another undisclosed long-term offtake agreement. The project is in the Murray River renewable energy zone. Construction should take about 18 months. Edify declined to comment. Edify Energy has previously used project finance for its large-scale batteries. It brought...

Stanmore, Whitehaven Coal, BUMA Australia and Peabody Energy are lining up funding for their bids to purchase BHP's and Mitsubishi Development’s Daunia and Blackwater metallurgical coal mines in Queensland, according to AFR. Stanmore, advised by Grant Samuel, is looking to raise US$750m from private credit funds and US$350m from banks for its bid for Daunia and is talking to Varde Partners about equity. There is Japanese interest in the bidding, with Itochu working with Whitehaven. JFE, Nippon Steel, Marubeni and Sojitz are talking to the...

Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has agreed to buy KKR's stake in Australian environmental markets platform GreenCollar, which helps develop projects that generate carbon and other environmental credits and provides a platform for selling them. US global fund manager KKR and other shareholders will sell their stakes to the Canadian pension fund. OTPP became an investor in GreenCollar in March last year and will hold a significant majority after the deal closes, expected in Q4. KKR has been an investor since 2020 through its Global Impact Fund....

Sigma Lithium says it has received “multiple strategic proposals” from groups to take stakes in the Canadian parent company Sigma Lithium Corporation, Brazilian company Sigma Mineracao, and for the Grota do Cirilo lithium mine. “The proposals from the potential strategic partners differ in nature and structure and are subject to ongoing review and negotiations,” according to a statement. The company has tapped BofA Securities and BTG Pactual in Brazil as its financial advisers in connection with the sales. Sigma is currently in the market...

San Francisco-based institutional investment fund sponsor and tax equity investor Foss & Co has launched a standalone battery storage investment division with a plan to deploy US$3bn in tax equity into battery projects by 2028. The division has completed its first deal, a US$200m investment in a 300MW battery, details of which have not been disclosed but are expected within the coming weeks. The transaction is Foss’s largest investment in a single asset. It previously deployed US$60m in a tax equity partnership with distributed energy...

Montreal-based Power Sustainable Infrastructure Credit, an alternative asset manager and subsidiary of Power Corporation of Canada, has secured a US$600m commitment from subsidiaries of Great-West Lifeco for its infrastructure credit strategy. The strategy seeks to directly originate, structure, and manage infrastructure credit assets in sectors including energy and decarbonisation, transport and logistics, digital infrastructure, social infrastructure, and utilities and recycling. Power Sustainable Infrastructure Credit, based in Miami, is led...

Local utility Colbun has signed a 12-year power purchase agreement (PPA) to supply copper miner Collahuasi with 100% renewable power following a tender process. The PPA will run from January 2024 to December 2035 and account for 230GWh per annum for the first two years, before jumping to 650GWh per year for the final 10. The output will come from both operating and under-construction projects, Colbun said. Collahuasi opened a tender to find a company to provide renewable energy for the expansion of its mine in Tarapaca, which includes...

Local renewable energy group Be8 is raising a R$90m (US$18.5m) sustainability-linked loan from Santander backing its biodiesel manufacturing build-out. Be8 collects used cooking oil and creates biofuels, with 148,000m3 made in 2022. Be8 is backed by Brazilian holding company ECB Group, which operates in the agribusiness and renewables sectors. The deal follows on from two earlier loans taken out through Santander. In 2022, Be8 borrowed R$60m in July and R$40m in December. The company expects to use at least 20,000 tonnes of re-used oil this...

Environmental service provider Orizon Meio Ambiente has landed a R$130m (US$26.5m) sustainability-linked loan deal through the International Finance Corporation (IFC) backing a series of projects the company is developing in the waste and recycling spaces. The deal represents the IFC’s maiden SLL in the waste management sector in emerging markets. The financing will back construction of Latin America’s largest mechanised material recovery facility (MRF), in the state of Pernambuco, pay for the expansion of two leachate treatment plants in the...

The City of Edmonton in Alberta has shortlisted five bidders to design, construct, operate and maintain a hydrogen fuelling station – Air Products, Air Liquide, Imperial Oil and Linde, and Plex Products. The city is collaborating with the Alberta Motor Transport Association and Edmonton Region Hydrogen Hub partner Transition Accelerator on the procurement. The project will supply hydrogen for the city’s transit buses, the first of which went into service this summer, and the private transport sector as it transitions to heavy-duty hydrogen...

Virginia-based SolaREIT, a solar-focused real estate investment trust, has secured investment from funds managed by alternative investment manager AB CarVal to back growth of its renewable land, lease and loan financing products. The investment is initially US$100m with the ability to increase it to US$250m. SolaREIT was launched in 2020 and provides a model for financing solar real estate and offers options to compensate landowners for using their land to host solar farms and battery storage. “Developers and asset owners are facing a number of...

Spanish IPP Grupo Ibereolica Renovables has landed all the environmental permitting necessary for its 1,203MW ERNC Antofagasta wind and solar hybrid project. The scheme includes a 528MW wind farm and a 675MW solar photovoltaic project in Taltal. Project costs will be around US$1.1bn. Ibereolica is active in project finance markets and most recently closed a US$118m deal backing a wind farm in the Atacama region through adviser Credit Agricole. It has typically developed projects with equity partners and it may look to bring in capital to the...

Local group Mineria Altair is seeking environmental permits from regulator SEA for the US$250m La Farola copper-gold mine upgrade. The goal of the works is to extend the mine life by a further 19 years. The scheme will involve a 72-hectare open pit, tailings facilities, and a concentrator plant. The project considers processing of 15,000 tonnes per day. Mineria Altair is an affiliate of Altair Resources, a Canada-based gold and precious metal exploration company with operations also in the US and Burkina Faso.

Colorado-based solar and storage developer Redeux Energy Partners has retained Marathon Capital as financial adviser to sell up to all its equity interests in an 11-project, seven-state portfolio. The portfolio includes more than 1.7GW of solar capacity plus 160MW of battery energy storage capacity in the SERC and MISO markets. Marathon is talking to independent power producers, strategic investors, and financial players, aiming to close a transaction by December. Redeux’s entire portfolio is 3.5GW and includes projects in 15 states. Its...

Igneo Infrastructure Partners is acquiring a majority interest in New Jersey-based Soltage, a US renewable power producer operating in 18 states. Igneo will acquire the equity from investors including Prudential Private Capital, alongside members of the company's management. The transaction is expected to close later this year and terms were not disclosed. Soltage has developed more than 500MW of solar assets and deployed more than US$1bn into approximately 125 clean energy projects for utility, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers...

Private investment promotion agency ProInversion will award two port public-private partnership projects within the next 12 months requiring US$600m, officials said at the Latin America Ports Forum. The projects are self-financed private initiatives and include the New Port Terminal of San Juan de Marcona in Ica and the Port of Chimbote in Ancash. The San Juan de Marcona scheme requires US$400m and will declared of interest this quarter. If in the ensuing 90 days after the declaration of interest no interested third party submits an expression...

GNL Quintero has submitted its US$30m Bahia de Quintero Green Hydrogen project to environmental regulator SEA. GNL operates a natural gas regasification scheme at the site. The hydrogen plant will have nominal generation power of 10MW and considers initial hydrogen production of about 660 tonnes per year, with average daily production of approximately 1,800kg. Production will gradually increase to a maximum of approximately 1,600 tonnes per year. The project will buy power from the national grid. In 2022, a consortium of US energy investor...

Latin American development bank CAF has admitted Honduras and the Dominican Republic as members. The move allows the countries greater access to long-term financing and technical cooperation for sustainable development, CAF said in a statement. Spain also signed an agreement to increase its share in the institution’s capital increase for US$302m. The group has also agreed a set of three financings for the region. CAF will provide US$650m for road infrastructure and BNDES in Brazil, US$77m for implementation of telemedicine in El Salvador, and...

Moelis & Co is launching a clean technology group and has appointed Arash Nazhad as a managing director in Houston. Nazhad joins from Citigroup, where he advised on clean tech, energy, metals, technology, industrials, and power. Prior to Citi, he spent nearly a decade at Equinor. He will be co-lead of the new group with Rick Polhemus, who advises on growth-driven technology, electrification, and mobility. Moelis aims to provide advisory and capital formation services to clients pursuing decarbonisation across various industries and end markets...

French green energy operator Valorem has closed its inaugural €75m green bond euro private placement to back development of its project pipeline in France. Societe Generale was sole arranger and corporate social responsibility coordinator. CMS Francis Lefebvre Avocats and Allen & Overy advised Valorem and Societe Generale, respectively, on legal matters.

Direct air capture (DAC) project developer Heirloom is advancing plans for project finance after securing a long-term contract with Microsoft for its Project Cypress in Louisiana. The project was previously selected by the US Department of Energy (DOE) for up to US$600m in funding as a DAC hub. Microsoft agreed to purchase up to 315,000 metric tons of CO2 removal over a multi-year period from Heirloom. The CO2 removal credits purchased as part of the agreement will be generated at Heirloom’s next two commercial deployments in the US and will...

Dutch firm Ingka Group, Ikea's main shareholder, and Apex Clean Energy are developing Ingka’s first battery storage project, Cameron Storage. The 16.4MW standalone lithium-ion battery will support the Texas power grid. It will begin operations in the coming weeks and is co-located with Ingka Investments’ Cameron wind farm, a 165MW project that has been operational since 2015. Powin is serving as the equipment vendor and Worley is providing engineering, procurement, and construction services for the project. Ingka Investments and Apex have...

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has completed its environmental review of Equinor and BP’s 2.1GW Empire Wind offshore farm in waters off New York. The review is of the 57-turbine Empire Wind 1 and 90-turbine Empire Wind 2 schemes, which will be built about 12 nautical miles south of Long Island on the OCS–A 0512 lease area they won at the New York Bite auction. The onshore components of the project will include up to three export cable landfalls in New York one for Empire Wind 1 and up to two for Empire Wind 2 and two onshore substations...

FuelCell Energy has contracted with Toyota Motor for renewable energy, hydrogen, and water from directed biogas at a FuelCell tri-gen system at Toyota's Port of Long Beach operations. Fuel Cell will supply the three products under a 20-year purchase agreement. The project will produce 2.3MW of power, up to 1,200kg per day of hydrogen, and 1,400 gallons of water. It will enable Toyota Logistic Services (TLS) Long Beach to be the company's first port vehicle processing facility to be powered by 100% on-site renewables. FuelCell’s technology...

Spain's Repsol is acquiring Texas-based renewables developer ConnectGen for US$768m from Quantum Capital Group’s global renewable energy development platform 547 Energy, representing Repsol's entry to the US onshore wind market. ConnectGen’s development pipeline includes 20GW of onshore wind, solar and energy storage projects at different levels of maturity across US regional power grids. The move supports Repsol's aim to have net-zero emissions by 2050. The deal adds a wind growth platform that complements the solar and storage development...

North Carolina-based battery storage developer LS Energy Solutions has been selected to work with Gore Street Energy Storage Fund on a 200MW battery storage project at Gore Street’s Big Rock solar site in Imperial County, California. The battery will provide resource adequacy (RA) and ancillary services to the state’s power grid, adding reliability and resiliency for electricity in the California Independent System Operator market. Big Rock will be operated at 100MW of deliverability to supply 400MWh and meet the four-hour discharge needs of an...

Texas-based Trinity Gas Storage has closed a US$189m project finance loan led by Investec backing a greenfield natural gas storage facility in East Texas with 24bn cubic feet of capacity. Transition Equity Partners led a group of equity investors including Pan Capital Management, Abrdn, SailingStone Capital Partners, and Rice Investment Group, which took a stake in the company. Investec was joint lead arranger and administrative agent on the deal. Construction is under way and operations are slated to begin for Phase 1 in mid-2024. The...

Boston-based developer BlueWave Solar has closed US$91m in construction and long-term financing to back five projects in Massachusetts. The financing comprises US$64m in debt from KeyBank and US$27m in tax equity from US Bancorp Impact Finance. The projects feature dual-use solar development attributes, or agrivoltaics, that benefit landowners, farmers and communities. They will be part of the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target programme that works with low-income households. BlueWave was advised by CohnReznick Capital.

Private midstream water operator WaterBridge has closed its incremental Term Loan B after upsizing it to US$160m from US$150m. The company agreed pricing at guidance of SOFR plus 575bp. The fungible loan matures in June 2026 and includes an ARRC-recommended credit spread adjustment and a 1% floor. The original issue discount settled at 99.75 cents on the dollar after being guided at 99 cents. The loan comes with 101 soft call protection for six months. Barclays is lead bookrunner and administrative agent. Funds, along with cash on hand, will be...

Woodfibre LNG has signed a third LNG sales and purchase agreement (SPA) with BP Gas Marketing, committing the project’s entire capacity. The deals represent a total firm LNG offtake of 1.95m tonnes per annum (MTPA) and the remainder will be sold on a flexible basis. Under the terms of the latest deal, BP will receive an additional 0.45m tonnes per year of LNG over 15 years on a free on board (FOB) basis. Woodfibre is scheduled to begin construction this month and operations are set to start in 2027. Last year, Singaporean group RGE’s...

North Carolina-based hydrogen distribution and fuelling business OneH2 has closed its latest funding round with investments led by Chevron and current investors Trafigura and The Pape Group. Terms of the transactions were not disclosed. Funds from the round will be used to accelerate the development and deployment of mid-scale hydrogen generators and fuel distribution. Sumitomo’s US subsidiary became an investor in OneH2 in 2021. The growth capital provided by Sumitomo and other investors was to fund modular hydrogen production units, storage...

Spanish IPP Grenergy Renovables has signed a long-term power purchase agreement with Enel Generacion Peru for output from its 96MW Matarani solar farm in Arequipa. The deal will see Grenergy supply Enel with 182GWh annually for 15 years starting in January 2025. Commercial operation is slated for mid-2024 and it will produce 260GWh per annum. Matarani is Grenergy's first solar project in Peru and follows a pair of operating wind farms with a combined capacity of 36.8MW. The company is active in project finance in the region. It most recently...

Basis Climate, a marketplace for renewable energy tax credits, has closed a US$100m transfer of 2023 production tax credits for a portfolio of operating wind projects, the largest clean-energy tax credit transfer it has facilitated to-date. The seller, one of the largest wind farm operators in the US, selected the buyer from 10 interested parties. Details on the buyer were not disclosed. Basis operates a digital exchange to connect buyers and sellers of renewable energy tax credits and help close deals quickly. The firm expects the annual...

Local utility Neoenergia has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Rio Grande do Norte to pursue offshore wind projects in the state. The MoU includes cooperation on developing frameworks, conducting studies, and establishing technical and regulatory aspects, among others. “We also consider that the framework will be important for legal and regulatory certainty and predictability for investors,” said Marcelo Lopes, director of hydraulics and offshore at Neoenergia. Iberdrola’s Brazilian affiliate Neoenergia has...

Brazil’s Transport Ministry has approved a tender for the massive R$9bn (US$1.82bn) concession for a 232km section of the BR-040 highway project between Belo Horizonte and Juiz de Fora in Minas Gerais. The Federal Government expects to launch the tender notice and hold the auction by the end of 2023. BR-040 runs through Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Goias, and Brasilia. The current concessionaire, owned by Invepar, is in the process of returning the concession to the government. The concession was originally signed in 2014 and was supposed to...

Utility Con Edison has started construction of the US$810m Brooklyn Clean Energy Hub that will be the interconnection point for up to 1.5GW of offshore wind capacity. The scheme will be built on land owned by the group that formerly held the fossil fuel-fired Hudson Avenue Generating Station. Commercial operation is expected by mid-2028. The hub will accommodate offshore turbine capacity that will supply electricity to about 750,000 homes. Sponsors BP and Equinor are one of the development teams of offshore wind in New York waters that are...

EDP Renewables and Engie-backed joint venture Ocean Winds has signed two agreements in the offshore wind space in Brazil. The company signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with local infrastructure group Prumo Logistica to explore an offshore wind project near the Port of Acu off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. It also signed an amendment to a 2021 MoU signed with the government of Rio Grande do Norte about pursuing offshore wind projects in the state’s waters. Ocean Winds is planning the 2GW Maral scheme off the state’s coast. The...

Guyana has received bids for eight of its 14 offshore oil and gas exploration blocks as part of its maiden auction process. The auction sought to open up for private investment an area that holds a potential 11bn barrels of oil. The government will evaluate offers before negotiating terms, with the aim of awarding contracts on November 1. Bidders included a consortium of ExxonMobil, Hess Corp, and CNOOC; a consortium of TotalEnergies, Qatar Energy, and Petronas; a consortium of Delcorp, Watad Energy, and Arabian Drillers; a pairing of Liberty...

Private investment promotion agency ProInversion has committed to preliminary studies for the development of a cable car in Puno as a public-private partnership. The project is aimed at increasing tourism to the city and growing the local economy. At this stage, the route takes in Cerro Asoguini at its highest point and the Mirador del Inca, and ends at the Mirador el Condor. The studies will determine the costs and structure of the project.

The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (Cabei) has approved US$400m in project finance debt backing the National Impact Asset Management (GAIN) programme, which includes five key road projects for the country’s economic and social development. The financing will be allocated to the National Roads Council (Conavi). The loan has a 20-year term with a five-year grace period and competitive interest rates, and does not require a sovereign guarantee. The works include the completion of the Barranca–Limonal project, the design and...

IPP Sonnedix has submitted the US$290m, 92.4MW Carica wind farm and co-located 400MWh battery energy storage system in Coquimbo to environmental regulator SEA for approvals. The project consists of the construction, operation, and closure of a 14-turbine wind farm, the BESS, and a booster substation that will be connected to the Arrayan–Don Goyo transmission line selling into the SEN grid.

Venture Global LNG has revealed plans to increase its nameplate LNG export capacity to more than 100m tonnes per year from 70m tonnes per year and has expanded its master equipment supply agreement with Baker Hughes for delivery of additional liquefaction train and power island systems. The projects will be developed in Louisiana and elsewhere. Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass LNG plant in Louisiana started production in January 2022. The company has also taken a final investment decision (FID) on both phases of its 20m tonnes per year...

Florida-based data centre operator DigitalBridge has completed a recapitalisation of its portfolio company DataBank, a Texas-based data centre platform. DigitalBridge received US$219m in additional commitments in the final closing, bringing total recapitalisation commitments to US$2.2bn. DigitalBridge shareholders committed alongside new investors Swiss Life Asset Management, EDF Invest, and IMCO. DigitalBridge will receive US$50m, bringing its total gross cash proceeds to US$479m including prior closings, and its ownership in DataBank will...

Bidding has been extended for the Ps2.5trn (US$630m) Corredor Verde portion of the Carrera Septima roadway public-private partnership near Bogota. Colombian urban development institute IDU will now accept bids on the Corredor Verde through to October 2, pushed back from the original deadline of September 17. An award is expected to come after meetings between October 25 and 27. “We have recommended that the deadline for receiving proposals be extended, which will allow those interested in the three tenders that make up the Corredor Verde to...

Meridiam has acquired Conrac Solutions, a Washington-based developer and operator of mobility infrastructure, including rent-a-car facilities, for airports across the US. The company operates in 10 states at 13 airports in Anchorage, Alaska; Austin, Texas; Bismarck, North Dakota; Chicago, Illinois; Lubbock, Texas; Newark, New Jersey; Orlando, Florida; Portland, Oregon; Salt Lake City, Utah; San Diego and San Francisco, California; and SeaTac, Washington. The acquisition price was not revealed. Conrac previously entered into a partnership with...

Local energy trader 2W Ecobank has agreed to sell a minority stake in the 138.6MW Anemus wind farm portfolio to local manufacturer WEG for R$970m (US$198m). The deal includes a partnership between project company Anemus Wind Holding and WEG. Under the partnership, WEG will receive 30MW of the output for 20 years starting January 1 2024. The Anemus portfolio includes three separate wind farms in Rio Grande do Norte.

State-run energy company Petrobras has issued a licence request to environmental protection agency Ibama for offshore wind projects in 10 areas that could add up to 23GW to the grid. The firm is exploring both fixed and floating schemes. It has also studied the purchase of stakes in offshore wind farms outside of Brazil. Petrobras made its intentions clear earlier in the month when it signed a partnership with motor company WEG to develop wind turbines. The company is investing R$130m (US$26.8m) over the next 25 months in a 7MW turbine WEG is...

Companhia Energetica de Minas Gerais (Cemig) has agreed to sell its 15-project small-scale hydro portfolio to Mang Participacoes e Agropecuaria for R$100.5m (US$20.65m). The auction was held in August, but the identity of the winner has now been revealed in a filing. State-run utility Cemig auctioned off the 41.2MW in hydro schemes in Minas Gerais and Santa Catarina for well above the R$48.2m starting bid. The largest is the 8.2MW Salto Voltao. The deal still requires approval from power sector regulator Aneel and antitrust group Cade.

Atlanta-based community solar developer Dimension Renewable Energy has closed a US$203m financing to support the construction of a 95MW distributed generation portfolio. Silicon Valley Bank was lead debt syndicator on the sponsor’s inaugural project financing, with ING and NBC as joint lead arrangers and Cadence coming in as a lender. NT Solar and Advantage Capital arranged tax equity for the projects. Dimension is a portfolio investment of Partners Group, a private markets firm, acting on behalf of its clients. The financing will back a...

Arizona-based renewables developer Arevon Energy has selected Bechtel to design and construct a 190MW solar project in Posey County, Indiana. Construction is expected to begin in Q1 2024 and CenterPoint Energy will purchase the entire output. The project was initially expected to be sized at 300MW but was downsized in large part due to supply chain issues, CenterPoint said. The Posey project is in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) interconnect queue and is being evaluated to connect to the nearest viable interconnect point,...

The Government of South Korea and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) have agreed to renew and expand the Korea Infrastructure Development Co-financing Facility for Latin America & the Caribbean (KIF) for an additional US$1bn, its largest replenishment since its inception in 2015. The expansion of the KIF will enable the IDB Group to fund projects across the infrastructure and energy, social, and technology spaces, among others. The IDB and the Korean Ministry of Economy and Finance (MoEF) structured the first phase of the KIF for US$100m...

Orsted has closed the US$625m purchase of utility and development partner Eversource Energy’s 50% stake in an uncontracted federal offshore wind lease area off Massachusetts that the companies co-owned. Located approximately 25 miles off the coast of southern New England, the OCS-A 500 Lease Area in this deal has approximately 187,000 acres of seabed with potential for up to 4GW of offshore wind energy. Eversource will use the proceeds to funds its US$545m tax equity investment in the South Fork wind farm, which it is developing alongside...

The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (Cabei) has agreed a US$135m financing backing the implementation of the Hospital Network Support Program of the Republic of Honduras (PARH), which includes the design, construction, equipping and start-up of two new hospitals in the municipalities of Choluteca and Tocoa. The deal was priced at an average interest rate of 4.26%. In the case of the Choluteca Hospital, it has resources from the Poverty Reduction and Economic and Social Exclusion Program (PRPEES), which offers concessional...

Collateralised loan obligations (CLOs) appear to be coming back info fashion, in Asia at least. Bayfront in Singapore has transacted its fourth deal, a five-tranche US$410.3m securitisation of project and infrastructure loans and bonds. Not to be outdone, in competing Asian debt capital market Hong Kong, Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation (HKMC) completed its first issuance of infrastructure loan-backed securities under its pilot scheme on infrastructure financing securitisations in May in a US$400m deal. Exciting times for this new market in Asia...

The winners of the four 1.8MW each Taiba and Qassim gas-fired power projects are due to be announced shortly by procurer Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC). Four teams bid – ACWA Power/Saudi Electricity Company; Taqa/JERA; Nebras/Marafiq/Kepco; and Al Jomaih/EDF. One rumour suggests all four could get one project. Each bidder can win a maximum of two. The projects will have provisions for carbon capture and sequestration. Cranmore Partners, Linklaters and Fichtner are advising SPPC.

ADNOC has taken a final investment decision on its 1.5mtpa Habshan carbon capture, utilisation and storage project, one of the largest carbon capture projects in the Middle East and North Africa region. The CO2 will be permanently stored in reservoirs deep in the sub-surface through the deployment of closed-loop CO2 capture and re-injection technology at the well site. The project would be built, operated, and maintained by ADNOC Gas. It will include carbon capture units at the Habshan gas processing plant, pipeline infrastructure and a network...

TotalEnergies has begun construction of 263MW of solar capacity near the town of Guillena in Andalusia. The portfolio consists of five solar projects requiring €200m of investment, TotalEnergies said. It includes the 51MW Postigo, 52MW Arbotante, 52MW Pilastra, 53MW La Noria, and 55MW Carrascosa projects. The projects have been granted strategic interest status after TotalEnergies and Guillena's city council signed a collaboration agreement to promote employment and socio-economic development of the territory.

Graha Teknologi Nusantara, a wholly-owned Indonesian subsidiary of EdgeConneX, has secured US$403.8m in a sustainability-linked loan to develop two data centres in Jakarta via ING, Natixis, SMBC and MUFG which acted as the account bank, facility agent, security agent and hedging bank. The transaction has been described as the first sustainability-linked loan for data centres in Indonesia. The loans use a key performance indicator (KPI) framework that complies with SLL principles published by the Loan Market Association (LMA).

The deadline for signing the US$2.4bn Wave seawater treatment and water transport project is due now and is expected to be met, followed by financial close later. The Orascom/Metito team won the deal in May. The scheme will be funded via US$2bn of underwritten hard mini-perm debt from local Abu Dhabi banks, plus Natixis and GIB. The loan tenor is six years and pricing is said to be above current norms at around 130bp–140bp.

Canadian Solar’s Recurrent Energy has closed project debt and tax equity deals for its 134MW Liberty solar project in Liberty County, Texas which is expected to begin operating in 2024. Rabobank acted as coordinating lead arranger with Nord LB and US Bank as joint lead arrangers. The banks provided US$120m in financing comprising construction debt, a letter of credit facility and a term facility. US Bancorp Impact Finance, a subsidiary of US Bank, will provide tax equity totalling US$80m. Earlier this year Recurrent signed a 16-year...

Poland's Orlen and Canada's Northland Power have signed their 20-year €4.4bn non-recourse project financing for the 1.14GW Baltic Power offshore wind scheme, including €3.6bn of term loan facilities and €800m of ancillary facilities. It is the first offshore wind project financing in Poland and the only one to seal financing on schedule from a pipeline exceeding 5GW of offshore wind capacity. The project financing, which will cover 80% of the total €5.5bn capital cost, has been the result of international efforts including 25 different banks...

At least three Australia-focused renewable energy and energy transition-focused funds are in the capital-raising stage. PFI has reported that Lighthouse Infrastructure, Federation Asset Management and Foresight Group are all seeking new capital for strategies run by local teams in Australia. Lighthouse Infrastructure is raising capital for the Lighthouse Energy Alternatives Fund (LEAF), seeking around A$400m (US$258m) of additional capital by December for a first close. Berkshire Global Advisors is assisting on the fundraising, targeting...

Rotonda Group-owned renewables developer Planea Energia’s €68m debt financing of a 141MW solar photovoltaic portfolio in Belinchon was raised via a bond issue, according to a source. The bonds were issued by Luxembourg-based vehicle European Sustainable Investments and fully subscribed to by asset manager Infranity. The issue has an eight-year tenor with the transaction executed by Spanish financial technology and solar company Alter5. The debt size was based on the project being fully merchant. The flexibility allows the portfolio to remain...

French battery cell manufacturer Verkor has raised more than €2bn for its 16GWh per year production capacity battery gigafactory in Dunkirk. The amount comprises €600m of debt from the European Investment Bank, €650m of French subsidies, and a minimum of €850m in Series C funding. The EIB support package is part of a broader project finance debt raising in progress with commercial banks alongside the EIB, Verkor said. It will use the financing for the construction of the Dunkirk factory, which will manufacture “high-performance, low-carbon...

Cobra Instalaciones Y Servicios has raised a €727m syndicated debt package financing a 1.2GW solar plant with lenders Santander and Natixis, according to a source. The deal closed in early August with Cobra supported by law firm Watson Farley & Williams. Cobra is the industrial services division of Vinci, which acquired it from ACS in 2021. The group is involved in the development, construction and operation of industrial infrastructures and employs more than 23,000 people across 45 countries.

KfW IPEX-Bank has joined lead arranger Credit Agricole and La Banque Postale as a co-lender in NEoT Green Mobility's €145m multi-currency financing structure. NGM offers e-mobility-as-a-service, which it says includes the financing and supply of batteries, vehicle fleets or charging solutions for urban and inter-urban public transport, logistics, shipping, inland navigation and rail. The company is looking to explore hydrogen-based offerings. Credit Agricole and NGM received legal support from Reed Smith. NGM is managed by NEoT Capital, which...

GEK Terna is the preferred investor on the 70km Attiki Odos motorway concession, scoring first place with a €3.2bn bid. GEK's bid is backed by a letter of financing from National Bank of Greece. The company's financial adviser is Italy's Mediobanca, for once taking away some of the spotlight from Greece's big four banks NBR, Alpha, Eurobank and Piraeus. Mediobanca remained a legacy adviser to GEK on the Attiki Odos concession from earlier on in the bidding process, when Luxembourg-registered FS Ark, understood to be managed by Australia's First...

The Philippines' Department of Energy has awarded 77 offshore wind energy contracts with a total potential capacity of 60GW, Energy Assistant Secretary Mylene Capongcol said in a report by BusinessWorld. An additional eight contracts were granted to develop ocean, tidal and wave energy projects. As of the end of June, there were about 113GW of projects that had been awarded in various development stages. The current pre-development period allowed is eight years, and the DOE may extend this. The government aims to have renewable energy make up...

Spanish IPP Ecoener has brought online its combined 97MW Cumayasa I and II solar farms in La Romana. The company is looking for a long-term financing backing the project with costs of around US$100m. Due diligence has been completed on the process. The schemes will provide 192GW per annum via a power purchase agreement with Dominican retailer and distribution company Empresa Distribuidora de Electricidad del Este SA (Edeeste). The PPAs are worth US$267.5m over the life of the project. The schemes take Ecoener’s operational installed capacity in...

MTR Corporation (MRTC) has signed project agreements with the Transport & Logistics Bureau of the Hong Kong government to develop the Kwu Tung Station (KTU) and Tuen Mun South Extension (TME) projects. It will be responsible for the financing, design, construction, operation and maintenance of the projects, which are estimated to have a combined cost of HK$25.6bn (US$3.3bn). The Kwu Tung station is estimated to cost about HK$9.8bn, which includes the capital cost of about HK$5.9bn for the KTU and the estimated cost of about HK$3.9bn for the...

The Ps170.6bn (US$3bn) rehabilitation PPP project of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in the Philippines has so far attracted five potential bidders that are likely to participate in the bidding. The Philippines’ Department of Transportation (DoTr) revealed that the five are San Miguel Corp, India’s GMR Group, the Manila International Airport Consortium (MIAC), Spark 888 Management and the Asian Airport Consortium. All have paid the non-refundable participation fee of Ps2.75m or US$50,000 to be considered prospective bidders and be...

Vietnam’s Ministry of Natural Resources & Environment has granted Singapore's Sembcorp Utilities (Sembcorp) and Vietnam's Petrovietnam Technical Services Corporation (PTSC) a crucial clean energy export licence for their proposed offshore renewable energy project in Vietnam. The partners plan to export clean energy to Singapore, which is seeking to import up to 4GW of clean energy by 2035. They aim to develop about 2.3GW of power from offshore wind projects in the country. With the licence, they can proceed to conduct marine resource...

Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry & Trade is preparing a new pricing structure for solar and wind power projects, with the first draft targeted to be released in November. The Ministry is gathering data on the best approach to pricing. According to one local report, the solar power price will be determined by the intensity of sunlight in each region, with the northern price bracket remaining higher to stimulate investment. Among other factors being considered are installed capacity, the economic life of a project, debt repayment periods,...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has arranged a US$13.8m corporate financing package to GreenYellow Smart Solutions Vietnam for the financing of rooftop photovoltaic (PV) solar systems for commercial and industrial consumers in Vietnam. The financing package comprises a US$3m A loan from ADB’s ordinary capital resources, and US$10.8m in parallel loans from FMO, a climate fund managed by responsAbility Investments, and Societe Generale. In addition, there is a US$3m grant from the Climate Innovation & Development Fund (CIDF) that is administered...

Germany-based wpd has refinanced its Luwei and Chungwei onshore wind farms in Taiwan via Credit Agricole, CTBC, SMBC and Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank. The local currency loans run for nine years and total US$58.92m and US$51.34m, respectively. The two projects, under project companies Luwei Wind Power and Chungwei Wind Power, have 78 turbines with a combined capacity of 180MW. Wpd said the refinancing has improved the capital structure and provided working capital for the project companies. “The Taiwanese renewable energy market is a key market...

The Ministry of Industry & Trade and the operators of Phu My combined-cycle power plants have reached an agreement to transfer two power plants to EVN, Phu My 2.2 in February 2025 and Phu My 3 CCGT in March 2024. The dates signify the end of their respective 20-year build-operate-transfer concession. To prepare for the transfer, MoIT will implement pilot operations in November to test the plants under the supervision of EVN before handed them over to the new operator, according to Vietnam Investment Review. Both projects have 715MW of...

Japan’s Erex is planning to develop a 50MW biomass power plant in Vietnam’s central province of Ha Tinh. "The biomass power plant will contribute to cutting carbon emissions, ensuring energy stability and sustainability and creating jobs for local people," Erex chairman Honna Hitoshi said in a meeting with the local authorities, according to local reports. The move is part of Erex's ongoing expansion in Vietnam. It has plans to develop 14 biomass power plants there with a total capacity of 1,060MW across 12 provinces. In July, Erex and local...

Adani Enterprises has formed a joint venture for sales and marketing of green hydrogen and green ammonia with Japanese trading house Kowa Group. The JV is owned 50:50 by subsidiaries Adani Global and Kowa Holdings Asia. The JV will be incorporated in Singapore and is intended for sales and marketing of green ammonia, green hydrogen and its derivatives produced and supplied by Adani Group. Kowa has business lines in general trading, health and medical, optical technology, electronics, hotels and real estate. The general trading business includes...

ACEN Renewables International, a subsidiary of the Philippines' ACEN Corp, has partnered with Singapore-based Silverwolf Capital to develop solar projects in Taiwan. The ACEN-Silverwolf joint venture will be owned on a 50:50 basis. ARI has also formed a joint venture in Indonesia with Trisurya Mitra Bersama to establish Puri Prakarsa Batam, which will focus on the development of large-scale solar facilities, battery energy storage systems and green hydrogen.

The UK's Octopus Energy has bought Partners Group's 10% stake in the 731.5MW Borssele III/IV offshore wind farm in the Dutch North Sea for an undisclosed amount. Partners Group was advised by Rothschild as financial adviser and Clifford Chance as legal adviser. Partners Group has now exited the asset, in which it originally owned 45%. It divested a 20% stake in 2022 to Swiss Life Asset Managers and a 15% stake in July this year to Glennmont Partners, managed by Nuveen Infrastructure. Borssele's new shareholder group comprises Octopus, Swiss...

The formal equity-raising process for the 3.2GW Sizewell C nuclear power project has started, with initial expressions of interest due by October 9. The government took a 20% stake in the scheme a year ago via a £700m investment and a 50% stake in the development phase, and EDF has 20%. Rothschild is financial adviser and BNP Paribas and Lloyds are advising specifically on the debt-raising alongside Allen & Overy and Clifford Chance. The debt-raising process will follow the equity raising, with the final regulated asset base (RAB) structure...

US-based developer and investor CrossBoundary has raised US$10m in equity for its blended finance facility CrossBoundary Access from the African Development Bank's Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA). The investment adds to US$25m in equity raised in 2022, including a US$5m tranche from Bank of America, US$10m from London-based ARCH Emerging Markets Partners, and US$10m from Microsoft's Climate Innovation Fund. CrossBoundary expects to unlock long-term debt project financing for its Energy Access facility by leveraging the US$35m in...

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) invested US$52.8bn globally between June 2022 and June 2023, mobilising nearly US$10bn more than in the previous fiscal year and recording its largest-ever year-on-year increase of 48%, managing director Makhtar Diop said on X, previously Twitter. Its disbursed loan portfolio totalled US$32.9bn, up from US$27.7bn in FY 2022, the disbursed equity portfolio remained steady at around US$10.4bn, and the disbursed debt security portfolio grew to US$9.5bn in FY 2023 from US$6.9bn in FY 2022. Investments...

Major construction companies in Israel have been awarded long-term design-build construction contracts worth more than NIS2bn (US$524m) to develop extensions of the Trans Israel Highway (Highway 6), which is operated by private company Derech Eretz under a long-term concession agreement with the Israeli government. Tel Aviv-listed Shikun & Binui's subsidiary Solel Boneh has been awarded a NIS460m contract to expand Section 18 of the highway, between the Iron interchange and Ein Tut. As part of the project, Solel Boneh will pave a third lane in...