Fund also announces the acquisition of an onshore wind project situated in the South of France
The L&G NTR Clean Power (Europe) Fund managed by Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), one of the world’s leading asset managers and NTR, a leading renewable energy specialist, has completed the financing of three Spanish solar projects in partnership with NordLB.
NordLB, the sole debt provider and hedge counterparty, has provided debt facilities of c. €50m with a debt tenor of 18 years.
The portfolio, which consists of two sites in Castilla la Mancha and one in Andalucía, are all in construction with the first already exporting power and scheduled to achieve commercial operations (COD) this month. Once fully operational, the sites will have a combined capacity of 115MWp, producing enough clean power to serve 51,424 homes. Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) have been signed with three parties including Nestlé Spain and Nestlé Portugal, Huhtamaki and Holaluz1 who will use 70% of the power generated across the three projects over the next 10 years.
In a separate transaction, the Fund has also completed the acquisition of Ferme Eolienne Cruscades and Canet, a six-turbine onshore wind project near Narbonne, France. With a capacity of 13.4MW, the project will provide clean energy for over 5,500 households and is already under construction, with the Fund having acquired the asset from Samfi Energy.
Anthony Doherty, Chief Investment Officer at NTR: “This is a substantial financing which we have successfully closed in a more challenging environment, proving that quality clean power projects and a strong sponsor can still attract favourable terms. We are delighted to continue our strong relationship with NordLB and to have them involved in this project, which is helping to accelerate the energy transition across Europe. Both announcements today are significant milestones for the fund as, together with LGIM, we work hard to deliver new renewable energy installations which play an important role in meeting vital climate goals.”
Heiko Ludwig, Global Head of Structured Finance at NordLB: “The successful closing of Garcia Lorca underlines our ongoing commitment to the build out of renewable energy in Europe with the Spanish market currently being very active. We are very happy to support our decade long client NTR with our structuring expertise to find tailor-made solutions for projects to enable an efficient and attractive financing package. Globally, we expect a growing demand for project financing of renewable and infrastructure assets for the next years and as such strong relationships between project sponsors and banks will be key.”
Bill Hughes, Global Head of Real Assets at LGIM: “Following our first close of the Fund in the Spring, we’re delighted to be able to announce continued positive momentum on capital deployment with these latest additions to the Clean Power (Europe) Fund portfolio. With their combination of strong income characteristics and sustainability credentials, we believe these assets represent a compelling opportunity for institutional investors looking to play their role in delivering the clean power transition.”
Pinsent Masons acted on behalf of the Fund for the financing, with Vector Renewables providing technical advice and Squire Patton Boggs legal advice on behalf of NordLB. Advisers for the Cruscades and Canet acquisition included Pinsent Masons (legal) and Everoze (technical) for NTR, and the vendor’s advisers included LPA CGR (legal) and Vulcain (financial).
In April 2023, LGIM and NTR announced that €390 million in committed capital and co-investment opportunity had been raised in the first close of the Clean Power (Europe) Fund.
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