There are new features available. View now.

There are new features available. View now.

The Refinitiv project finance numbers for the first half of this year show an encouraging increase in activity in the market, but underpinning the numbers the tectonic plates have been shifting, quickly. LNG is back on the gas, fibre is covering the land and the push to net zero via renewable energy has slowed a little. Underlining all this is a changing economic and capital markets environment that does not bode too well – in the short term.

It is a time of flux. The watershed moment came just into the new year. Two project bond issues in the Gulf did not fly out of the door as expected and the cat was out of the bag – the debt capital markets had hit a wall. This is a particular problem in the Gulf, where many construction projects over the last few years were funded on a soft or even hard mini-perm basis with a refinancing expected in the capital markets. Not so into 2022. The next refinancing in the Gulf, the Mirfa water and power project, will be funded in the bank not the bond market.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine then put the spotlight further on global inflationary economic woes, as did more Covid lockdowns in China. But the basic problem was the debt overhang from the last two years when a lot of money was printed and economic activity fell – a definition of an inflationary accelerator. It was coming, whatever.

In the project finance world commercial loan banks are still taking up the slack. The NeuConnect interconnector deal got 20 banks last week. But will the loan banks follow the bond and high yield markets into hibernation? That would be logical to some extent. In addition, the emerging markets, where project finance is a valuable financing source, are suffering from a rising dollar as US interest rates climb. One example is India, a market that was taking off last year with new dollar debt coming in, and is now taking a pause with volumes this year down 50%.

It's an ill wind that blows no good. The depressing events in Ukraine have put the spotlight firmly on the LNG market once again. Ironically, the last large-scale LNG deal to be financed before the invasion was the Arctic LNG 2 scheme in Russia. Now the focus in squarely on finding gas outside Russia – mainly in the USA, which, according the Energy Information Administration (EIA), was the top global exporter of LNG in the first half of this year.

That feat has been achieved from existing resources. Despite the fact that inflation is hitting many new projects, with renewables in particular suffering from higher construction prices, the new dash for gas is such that sponsors are pushing ahead quickly with new LNG build schemes. Indeed, in the first half of this year US$23bn of project finance was raised in the sector – mainly in the US but additionally in Australia.

If you have a permit to build an LNG scheme in the US right now, the debt is there to fund it. What is more, the struggle to get long-term contracted buyers, a feature of the market over the last decade, appears to be over for time being. ESG-minded banks can still play but they will closely analyse how the gas is extracted.

Presumably, we can expect more schemes to come to market. Nigeria would be well-placed to supply Europe and there is now talk of a new train eight for Nigeria LNG. With train seven under construction a train eight would send capacity up to 38mtpa. Of course, the Qataris are already boosting their capacity to 126mtpa. Elsewhere, work in Papua new Guinea is speeding up and there are the large-scale projects in East Africa – Mozambique and Tanzania.

If oil and gas, and LNG in particular, has been a staple in the project finance market, telecoms is a new kid on the block. Loan volumes have jumped from US$8.2bn this time last year to US$33.1bn this year. In Europe, volumes are up from US$7.8bn to US$26.9bn. That is an awful lot of fibre being laid around the place, assets that can only benefit the wider community – unless you believe the intervention of the internet was not such a great thing after all! In the UK, the market will decide on the corporate winners while in the rest of Europe, competition is more managed.

This leaves the renewables space. The boom led by offshore wind has tailed off slightly but there should be some decent size deals done in the second half. Green financings totalled US$36.1bn in the first half, down from US$41.1bn this time last year, with solar making up nearly half at US$19.8bn and wind US$8.6bn. Grid access and decent supply chains are the bigger long-term issue.

Singapore-headquartered renewables developer Vena Energy has reached financial close on the 128.5MW Tailem Bend Stage 2 hybrid solar and battery project in South Australia with DBS, ING and Siemens Bank. The project includes 87MW of contracted solar and 41.5MW of merchant battery energy storage. PFI has learned that the non-recourse loan is secured against both streams of income, from the solar plant and battery, and that the tenor is five years. DBS is joint green structuring bank, technical c

Adani Enterprises is in talks with State Bank of India for a loan for its Rs190bn (US$2.4bn) coal to polyvinyl-chloride (PVC) plant in Mundra, Gujarat, PFI has heard. Adani Group did not respond to a request for comment. SBI previously underwrote the entire debt requirement for Adani’s greenfield Navi Mumbai International Airport in March with a Rs127.7bn loan. SBI also led a consortium of local banks that provided the Rs60.71bn 14-year limited recourse project loan in June for Adani Group

First round bids are due by mid-August for a majority stake in Enel Green Power’s Australian renewables assets, reports AFR. Financial adviser Credit Suisse has launched the auction, which AFR reports offers a 50%–80% stake in the portfolio. Enel Green Power’s assets in Australia include three solar plants with 309MW of installed capacity. AFR reports that EGP has a 3.6GW development pipeline, including the ready-to-build 93MW Girgarre Solar Farm in Victoria. The operational as

Japan’s Inpex Corp will develop a carbon capture and storage facility and an expansion of production capacity at the Inpex-operated Ichthys LNG project. The company has signed a commitment statement with the Northern Territory government, which they said signifies their “complementary targets and initiatives for the transition to a net zero emissions future” that include those plans. The two parties have set an agreed schedule of negotiation parameters, including increasing LNG

German asset manager Aquila Capital is working to finance a 2.6GW portfolio of renewables in Southern Europe, according to a report. Aquila’s spokesperson declined to comment. Aquila portfolio company AQ Volta Renewables is responsible for the development of solar and wind in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece. It is developing 30 projects totalling 1.5GW in Italy and Greece, and more than 50 in Spain and Portugal totalling 2.6GW. Hiring notices posted on Aquila’s website in March sho

Energy minister Chris Bowen has announced that the government’s Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) will focus on supporting renewable and related technologies. The Labor government will introduce new regulations, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency Amendment (Powering Australia) Regulations 2022, which will give it an “additional targeted mandated to maximise the take-up of renewable energy”. Bowen said that under the previous coalition government ARENA was being &ld

AEMO Services, as the New South Wales consumer trustee, has published draft rules for the upcoming Long-Term Energy Service Agreement (LTESA) Round One tender. The LTESAs are options contracts for exercising cash-settled swaps for renewable energy generation and annuity top-up contracts for storage projects. They will offer generation projects a wholesale price floor, if exercised, while the projects retain exposure to upside price risk. The final tender pack is due for release in August. The Ro

NBN Co, the federal government-owned wholesale broadband network operator, has launched a A$2bn (US$1.38bn) promissory note programme. Issuance will commence in the coming weeks. Notes issued under the programme will be senior unsecured and an NBN spokesperson told PFI that they will typically have a tenor of less than one year. Dealers ANZ, CBA, NAB and Westpac will manage the programme. Moody’s has assigned a P1 short-term rating to the notes and Fitch has assigned them an F1+ rating. Mo

French battery cell company Verkor is undertaking an equity round and will raise project finance to construct its €1.5bn Dunkirk gigafactory in 2023, according to sources. The company will complete the equity raising before building its Verkor Innovation Centre (VIC) Megafactory, a small-scale replica of the planned Dunkirk gigafactory. The VIC Megafactory will include a lab, pilot line, and battery school and will be able to produce up to 150MWh of cells as well as being the company’

Macquarie’s Green Investment Group platform company Cero Generation has reached financial close on a 48MW agrivoltaic solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Italy, raising debt from Bayern LB, Siemens Financial Services through Siemens Bank, and Banco Santander. The Castrum project is backed by a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with Centrica Energy Trading. Located in the municipality of Montalto di Castro it is planned to be operational by early 2023. Cero was advised by Ashurst, and t

Paul O’Neill has joined KPMG in Ireland as managing director for infrastructure and government, leaving his role heading up financial advisory at Ireland’s National Development Finance Agency (NDFA). O’Neill had been at the NDFA, part of the National Treasury Management Agency, since 2008, when he joined as a financial analyst. He worked his way up to sector head in 2016 before taking on the role of head of financial advisory in 2019. He was responsible for the NDFA’s pro

New York-based energy storage provider Convergent Energy has entered a power purchase and operating agreement (PPOA) with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) for a 100MW solar project paired with a 55MW battery in Coamo, Puerto Rico. The solar-plus-storage system will be owned and operated by Puerto Rico subsidiary Convergent Coamo. The project is expected to come online in 2024 and is part of a larger plan to accelerate Puerto Rico's strategic clean energy transition. In April, the

Infinity and Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) have agreed to buy Lekela Power from the Actis and Mainstream joint venture for an enterprise value of US$1.5bn. Mainstream, which leads a consortium called Mainstream Renewable Power Africa Holding that holds 40% of Lekela, said it would get US$90m from the sale. Lekela has a 1GW operating portfolio in South Africa, Egypt and Senegal and a 1.8GW portfolio of development projects. Infinity is part of Mansour Group, Egypt's second-largest company valu

Floating LNG developer Delfin Midstream has finalised a binding LNG sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with Swiss commodities trader Vitol. Delfin will supply 0.5m tonnes per annum on a free on-board basis at the Delfin Deepwater Port 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana to Vitol for a 15-year period. The SPA is indexed to the Henry Hub benchmark and the agreement is valued at approximately US$3bn. Delfin has signed other agreements that are being finalised ahead of a final investment decision (FI

Cheniere Marketing has entered a long-term LNG sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with a subsidiary of PetroChina for up to 1.8m tonnes per year on a free-on-board (FOB) basis. Half the total volume is subject to Cheniere reaching a final investment decision (FID) for additional liquefaction capacity at the Corpus Christi LNG Terminal beyond the seven-train Stage III. Deliveries will begin in 2026, reach the full 1.8m tonnes in 2028, and continue through to 2050. The purchase price for the LNG i

UK rural communities fibre infrastructure provider Gigaclear is seeking £200m–£300m of new debt and equity finance via Rothschild. Infracapital-owned Gigaclear obtained a £190m loan earlier this year from UKIB, which provided £100m, with the rest coming from ABN AMRO, ING, Lloyds, NatWest and NIBC. Gigaclear has a £525m seven-year bullet loan in place from last year from ABN AMRO, Santander, Lloyds and NatWest priced at 350bp to 475bp. It has connected 300,000

The New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA) is preparing a US$24.6m securitised offering of green revenue bonds to back a portfolio of residential solar and energy-efficiency loans as it explores new sites for project development. The 10-tranche bond offering is supported by overall enhancement of 41.32% in the form of overcollateralisation plus amounts deposited in a reserve account. Maturities on the various tranches will start in 2023 and extend through to 2037. K

North Carolina-based renewables developer Pine Gate Renewables has closed on a US$98.9m green loan to fund a 55MW portfolio of three solar projects. The portfolio includes the 15MW Stratford project in Virginia and the 20MW Viaduct and 20MW School House solar projects, both in Pennsylvania. MUFG served as lead and sole lender on the financing and CL-Viaduct was the borrower. The financing package includes a US$63.6m bridge loan due December 2022 and a US$29.3m term loan, and US$6m standby letter

Chicago-based power developer Invenergy has revealed plans for its first green hydrogen project, Sauk Valley, which will generate green hydrogen by utilising power from a co-located Illinois solar plant with electrolyser technology from Ohmium International. The project is expected to generate up to 52 tonnes of hydrogen annually and will have the capacity to store up to 400 kilograms of hydrogen on site. It will provide hydrogen to Invenergy's 584MW Nelson solar project in Lee County, Illinois

Orsted has agreed to acquire French and German onshore wind developer OSTWIND for an enterprise valuation of €689m. Orsted will acquire OSTWIND’s German units OSTWIND Erneuerbare Energien, OSTWINDpark Rotmainquelle and Regensburg-based holding company OSTWIND, as well as its French units OSTWIND International and OSTWIND Engineering. Regensburg and Strasbourg-headquartered OSTWIND is a developer, builder, operator and manager of onshore wind and solar photovoltaic projects. The compan

A unit of LNG developer Tellurian has agreed to acquire natural gas assets in the Haynesville Shale from EnSight IV Energy Partners and EnSight Haynesville Partners. The company will pay US$125m plus a contingent payment of US$7.5m based on the price of natural gas, which may be payable in March under certain conditions. The assets produce roughly 45m cubic feet of natural gas per day and include 5,000 acres in DeSoto, Bossier, Caddo, and Webster Parishes, Louisiana. Tellurian will fund the purc

Axium Infrastructure has closed on US$175.1m in financing to back the acquisition of a stake in seven operating wind assets from BlackRock’s Global Renewable Power Fund I. The 1GW portfolio includes operating wind farms in Texas, Kansas, and New Mexico with long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs). Mizuho led the financing with MUFG and National Bank of Canada in arranger roles. The deal included a US$128.4m term loan, US$37.7m standby letter of credit, and US$8.9m standby letter of cred

California-based clean energy technology firm Clean Energy Systems (CES) has agreed to acquire the idled Madera biomass power plant in Madera County, California. CES plans to convert the facility into a biomass carbon removal and storage facility. The project will convert agricultural waste biomass from farms into a renewable synthesis gas that will be mixed with oxygen in a combustor to generate electricity and/or hydrogen. More than 99% of the carbon from the process is expected to be captured

Folsom, New Jersey-based energy infrastructure holding company South Jersey Industries (SJI) has entered a note purchase agreement for a US$400m private placement of senior unsecured fixed-rate bonds in four series to back sustainable projects. Denham Capital provided US$80m as part of the deal. KeyBanc Capital Markets and PNC are leads on the financing. SJI delivers energy services to customers through two primary subsidiaries, SJI Utilities and SJI Energy Enterprises. Projects eligible to be

The project company that holds the Ruby Pipeline is expected to sell its assets by year-end and emerge from bankruptcy protection by January. The project, a Wyoming to California interstate gas pipeline owned by Kinder Morgan and Pembina Pipeline, lost roughly 65% of its contracts as they expired last year, rating agency Fitch said, and has not been able to recontract capacity to any substantive degree. Fitch said in March it assumed any future contracts signed with shippers will be at “si

Spain’s Abertis and Canada’s Brookfield are exploring the sale of their toll road concessionaire Arteris, which manages more than 3,200km of highways in Sao Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Santa Catarina, and Parana. The ownership group, with Abertis holding 51% and Brookfield 49%, has tapped Morgan Stanley to explore the sale. There have been reports of tepid interest in the assets due to the shortness of the remaining concession periods on the books. Another factor that has we

Toll road operator EcoRodovias has filed a request with national land transport agency ANTT to return its Eco101’s highway concessions. The group joins a raft of companies including CCR and Odebrecht looking to return highway concessions due to a lack of traffic and numbers falling well below projections. The process to return concessions typically takes a number of years. Typically in Brazil, the contract with EcoRodovias will only be terminated after another player acquires the restructu

Costa Rica has landed more than US$400m in loans to back its National Decarbonisation Plan, which aims for net-zero emissions by 2050. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a US$300m loan that includes US$250m from its own capital and US$50m from the South Korean government. The funds will be administered by the IDB through its Korean Infrastructure Development Co-financing Facility. The French Development Agency is also providing €100m (US$102m) in parallel funding. The IDB l

Private investment promotion agency ProInversion has launched two tenders in the transmission sector that will see US$611m in investments. The projects include the 500kV Huanuco-Tocache-Celendin-Trujillo line and associated substations as well as the 500kV Celendin-Piura line and associated substations running through Cajamarca, Huanuco, La Libertad, San Martin, Amazonas, Lambayeque, and Piura. The concessions are still in the structuring phase and will be launched as self-financed state initiat

Angola's Ministry of Transport has awarded a 30-year concession for the Lobito rail corridor to a consortium of Mota Engil, Trafigura and Vecturis. The concession is valued at US$100m, according to the ministry. The winners will invest US$256m in infrastructure, US$73m in equipment and rolling stock, and US$4.3m in additional operations. The consortium won the tender after being shortlisted in February alongside a Chinese consortium of Citic, Sinotrans and CR20. The concession includes a 20-year

Details have emerged of the project financing backing the 1,044MW Hai Long offshore wind farm. Northland Power (60%) and Yushan Energy Taiwan (40%) are raising a 22-year NT$153.14bn (US$5.1bn) debt financing split into a NT$130bn (US$4.3bn) base tranche which is project finance structured, and a NT$23.14bn (US$770m) ancillary portion which is understood to have guarantees. Export credit agencies (ECAs) Export Development Canada, Denmark's EKF, Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Nippon

Investment firm Actis plans to expand the capacity of its newly acquired 220MW Bhola-2 combined -cycle gas turbine plant in the Bhola district in Bangladesh. The company has recently raised a US$200m loan facility to refinance existing debt of project company Nutan Bidyut Bangladesh following its acquisition of a 49% stake in the project. The majority stake of 51% is held by original developer Shapoorji Pallonji. The new loan has a 18-year tenor and is being provided by Bank of China, DBS, ING,

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will be setting up its first overseas office – an interim operational hub. The preferred location for the hub is Abu Dhabi in the UAE, pending formal agreement to be finalised during the coming weeks, the bank said. Its board of directors has given approval for the operational hub, which is intended to help bring the bank “closer to its clients and to the front lines of its business.” AIIB said that the hub will also provide proxi

Fundraising for the 99MW Jeonnam fixed bottom offshore wind project of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and SK E&S is said to be on hold as the government is understood to be reviewing its policy on renewable energy. There is talk that the government may introduce an auction to award projects to developers, making the process more transparent. Developers currently conduct direct negotiations with the government and the different agencies to seek approval for offshore wind projects. T

The Bangladesh government is interested in developing a hydropower plant in Lubughat, Khadadevi in Nepal with an estimated capacity of 683MW. Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury, its ambassador to Nepal, together with Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) executive director Kulman Ghising and other energy ministry officials, made a site investigation of the proposed project area, according to reports. "We've had discussions with the Bangladesh government to start the project, and we'll soon have a team of sp

A consortium of UK-based InfraRed Capital Partners and Canada-based Northleaf Capital Partners has signed a deal to buy Vodafone New Zealand’s mobile towers portfolio for NZ$1.7bn (US$1.05bn). InfraRed and Northleaf will each own 40% of the new TowerCo business through their funds, while Morrison & Co-managed listed fund Infratil will own 20% of the business. Vodafone NZ is owned by Brookfield Asset Management and Infratil. The enterprise valuation of the towers company at NZ$1.7bn is

The sponsors of the US$5bn-plus Neom green hydrogen scheme asked for bank commitments last week on a final updated term sheet. The term sheet was sent around in early June and as a result a few, but not many, bank-friendly revisions have been made. The financing will run for up to 25 years but will be transacted on a soft mini-perm basis. The debt/equity split is 80:20 and pricing is around the 150bp mark. The deal should close by year-end. The funding package will include US$800m of debt from G

A shareholder agreement for the East to Med data corridor (EMC) project is expected to be signed this week by Greek-Cypriot telecommunications company TTSA, Tadawul-listed Saudi Telecommunications Company (STC) via subsidiary Mena Hub, Greece's national utility PPC and Cyprus' national telecoms operator CYTA. The agreement will officially launch the US$800m–$1bn interconnection cable planned to link Singapore to Italy via Saudi Arabia, Cyprus, and Greece. The project was proposed last year

State-run utility Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE) and Sempra Infrastructure have signed several agreements to advance the joint development of energy infrastructure projects in Mexico. The duo will team up on the re-routing of the Guaymas–El Oro pipeline in Sonora, the proposed Vista Pacifico liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Topolobampo, Sinaloa, and the potential development of a LNG terminal in Salina Cruz, Oaxaca. Sempra Infrastructure at this stage says it is working towa

The Brazilian government has approved two concessionaires behind streetlight public-private partnerships to issue incentivised infrastructure debentures. The private fixed-rate securities come with a reduction in income tax on profits for investors in the notes. Concessionaire Conecta Aracaju will issue R$50m (US$9.2m) in debentures backing the modernisation of the city in Sergipe’s public lighting. Conecta won the concession for the PPP to upgrade Aracaju’s lighting in June 2021. Wo

The Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications & Transport has extended Kansas City Southern de Mexico’s (KCSM) rail concession for 10 years in exchange for Ps4bn (US$193m) in investments. Works include upgrades to the Celaya-NBA Line Bypass that will separate KCSM’s track from Ferromex lines. The amendment to the concession gives KCSM exclusive rights to the railway to the north-west of Mexico City through to 2037.

Xinfra Fibra-E (XFRA) has purchased a 90% equity interest in Concesionara Bicentenario, owner and operator of the Libramiento de Celaya toll road project in Celaya. The group bought the stakes from Spanish concession and construction group Construcciones Rubau and Mexican construction company Vise, which were advised by Rubicon Capital Advisors. The Libramiento de Celaya toll road consists of a 12.93km two-lane bypass and an additional 16.45km four-lane bypass, which together form a 270-degree r

State-owned energy producer Hydro Tasmania has appointed Ian Brooksbank as chief executive, after his being acting CEO since September. Prior to September he was chief financial officer for two years. He has held executive finance roles at Blue NRG and AGL Energy, where he also led the Torrens Island Power Station and then the Bayswater and Liddell Power Stations. Hydro Tasmania’s chairman Grant Every-Burns said: “Over the past nine months, Ian has provided strong leadership to the H

Oman Power & Water Procurement Company (OPWP) is seeking a technical and economic consultant to advise on wind power schemes in the country. The consultant will look at the feasibility of schemes in the eastern, central and southern parts of the country and then work the schemes up to the tender phase. OPWP is planning a 100MW wind power scheme at Jalan Bani bu Ali in North Sharqiyah Governorate and is looking at a 200MW Duqm Wind IPP 2025 and a 160MW Duqm II Wind IPP 2027. It is also lookin

Laotian hydropower producer Xayaburi Power Co Ltd (XPCL) has issued Bt10bn (US$285m) of project bonds to refinance loans that were used to develop its 1,285MW run-of-the-river hydropower plant. The bond issue is offered in three tranches: Tranche 1 is Bt4.5bn of three-year paper due 2025 priced at 4.5%; Tranche 2 is Bt2bn of four-year paper due 2026 priced at 4.75%, and the final tranche is Bt3.5bn of five-year paper due 2027 priced at 5%. The unsecured notes, rated BBB+ by TRIS Rating, opened f

Companies in the Philippines are going to the stock market to raise funds for their renewable energy projects. Three have recently done so and two are soon going to. By Minerva Lau.

The fact that the 350,000-tonnes-per-year 45MW South Clyde waste-to-energy (WtE) scheme reached financial close last week came as something of a surprise. I thought the Scots had put a stop to all the WtE projects north of the border, but the schemes keep coming. Is this the last one? The deal introduced a new contractor to the WtE fray, Swedish-Finnish engineering company AFRY. Its arrival probably has something to do with the fact that the sponsor is fellow Finnish company Fortum, indeed a com

Spain’s fibre market is getting busier, with debt packages backing fibre rollouts surfacing from Vauban and Telefonica as well as Orange and MasMovil. Vauban Infrastructure Partners and Credit Agricole Assurances (CAA) are raising debt to back their acquisition of a 45% stake in Bluevia from Telefonica Espana for €1.02bn cash upfront, with the Spanish fibre joint venture (JV) raising a capex line from banks for its rollout. The acquisition debt will be relatively small – less th

The new deadline for the privatisation of Greek-state owned nickel producer Larco is July 29. The winning bidder from the shortlisted GEK TERNA, Mytilineos and Commodity & Mining Insight Ireland (CMII) was expected to be announced in late November but the deadline was not met. Local media close to privatisation unit TAIPED have reported that CMII has requested a one-month extension but it is not clear why the extension has been sought or whether it will be granted. The privatisation initiati

Infra investor Asterion Industrial Partners has agreed to acquire a 78.4% stake in fibre and data centre company Irideos in Italy from Fondi Italiani per le Infrastrutture (F2i). Irideos has a network of 27,000km of fibre-optic cables along motorways, the Adriatic coast, and in metro areas, as well as 15 data centres. Its flagship data centre is the Avalon Campus near the Milan Internet Exchange, making it a key interconnection hub. The deal is a bolt-on for Asterion’s portfolio company Re

Europe’s second privately financed interconnector crossed the line with over €2.5bn of debt raised. Ofgem’s cap-and-floor subsidy variant was core to the deal as bidders prepare for a third bid window. By Jordan Bintcliffe

Israel-based companies are becoming key renewables investors in Eastern Europe. Four major developers, three of them listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, have announced investment plans, collaboration deals, and land purchases for a multi-gigawatt-sized, mainly solar pipeline in several Eastern European countries. PFI has recently spoken to Tel Aviv-listed Nofar Energy and privately-owned Kenlov Renewable Energy and Econergy. A new investor, Tel Aviv-listed El-Mor Energy, joined the trio activ

French telecoms company TDF Fibre’s €735m debt package has been syndicated, with 10 banks now in the lender group, according to a source. They include Credit Agricole, Societe Generale, BRED Banque Populaire, BayernLB Giro, Credit Industriel Commercial, La Banque Postale, MUFG, NordLB, Sabadell and Groupe Caisses d'Epargne. The non-recourse, seven-year debt financing will give TDF Fibre more resources to develop fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) networks and roll out or take over new networks.

Dutch fibre-optic company Eurofiber’s €1.5bn refinancing drew 11 banks and was priced at 150bp–200bp over Euribor, according to a source. Eurofiber declined to comment. The seven-year debt has pricing step-ups with a steeper increase in year four and beyond, the source said. Rolling over from the previous deal, the bank group includes ABN AMRO, BNP Paribas, DNB, Hamburg Commercial, ING, Natixis, Rabobank, Santander and Societe Generale. KfW IPEX-Bank and NIBC joined the deal, wh

Deutsche Telekom has selected asset manager Meridiam as preferred bidder to work on a €1bn fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) roll-out across Austria, according to sources. The two investors in the joint venture (JV) will contribute €150m with an approximately €700m debt package to be raised for the roll-out, Handelsblatt reported in November. Meridiam and Deutsche Telekom declined to comment. The fibre JV is Deutsche Telekom’s third after deals for its Glasfaser Nordwest and Glasfase

Keppel Energy Nexus, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Infrastructure, will be developing Singapore’s first membrane-based near-shore floating solar photovoltaic (PV) system on Jurong Island. The company has been awarded a S$6m (US$4.3m) grant by Singapore’s Energy Market Authority (EMA) and Jurong statutory board JTC to develop the project, which will be membrane-based using Ocean Sun’s technology. The award is part of the EMA and JTC’s request for proposals to acceler

Fadi Selwan has been appointed as chief operating officer (COO) and executive committee member at French concessions major Meridiam. He spent the past 15 years at Meridiam's peer Vinci Group, acting as Vinci Concessions' managing director from 2007 to 2019 and since 2019 as operational director of the Americas and LNG Reservoir Business Division for Vinci's "Construction Grand Projets" branch. From 2014 to 2019 Selwan was chairman of Vinci Highways. Vinci and Meridiam are working on a joint vent

Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) has cancelled power purchase agreements (PPAs) with coal-fired plants with a combined capacity of 1.4GW, according to reports. "Last month, I sent a letter to cancel the purchase of 1.4GW of electricity from PLTUs [coal-fired power plants], regardless of the PPAs," PLN president director Darmawan Prasodjo Darmawan said at a recent roundtable in Bali. He said that PLN had already negotiated with the independent power producers before cancelling the power purchase a

Octopus Energy Group, which owns the UK retail and renewables investment group, has raised US$550m in new investment from existing shareholders and a US$225m injection from Canadian investor Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. The US$325m investment from existing shareholders is on terms agreed during the fundraising round in December 2021. In its latest accounts to April 2021, Octopus Energy Group showed it had reduced its annual operating losses to £31.4m from £62.8m. Revenues ro

The Philippines’ Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has given its final approval to the power supply agreement (PSA) between First NatGas Power Corp (FNPC) and Manila Electric Company (Meralco). The approval comes more than four years since the joint application for it was made in March 2018 and interim approval was given in June that year. In its decision, the ERC granted final approval of the PSA, and affirmed the applicable rates under the provisional authority it granted in its June 20

Sempra Infrastucture has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Entergy Texas to develop new renewable energy projects and increase the resilience of power supply in Entergy's southeast Texas service area, where Sempra has facilities under development. The companies plan to collaborate to develop a renewable energy plan, including a schedule for project procurement. Sempra Infrastructure is developing the Port Arthur LNG project in Jefferson County, Texas. Phase 1 of the project

Manila Electric (Meralco) has selected Prime Infrastructure Capital, part of Razon Group, to supply 500MW of capacity. Prime Infra said its unit Ahunan Power has offered mid-merit power using pumped storage hydropower as an energy storage system. “We look forward to the opportunity of further providing renewable energy sources that are reliable and sustainable,” said Prime Infra chairman Enrique Razon. Pumped storage hydropower plants store and generate electricity by moving water be

Metro Pacific Tollways Corp (MPTC) is keen to revive some of its proposed toll road projects, according to the new chief of the Department of Public Works & Highways (DPWH). “We need to [sit down with the] new agency head, because it is something that we want to pursue and implement immediately,” MPTC chief finance officer Christopher Daniel Lizo told local media during a recent gathering. The road projects include the Cavite–Tagaytay–Batangas Expressway (CTBEX) and t

AC Energy (ACEN, 55%), ACE Endeavor (5%) of the Ayala Corp, CleanTech Renewable Energy 4 Corp (CREC4, 40%), and Natures Renewable Energy Development (NAREDCO) have signed a shareholders’ agreement to develop, operate and maintain the 200MW Lal-lo Solar Power Project in Lal-lo, Cagayan. They have entered into a loan and security agreement regarding ACEN's extension to NAREDCO of a Ps1.14bn (US$20.2m) loan. The security includes pledges on parcels of land where the Lal-lo solar power project

Barrick Gold and the Pakistan government have reached an agreement in principle on the structure governing the development of the US$7bn Reko Diq copper-gold deposit in the province of Balochistan. Barrick is now seeking financing partners, with a target of 50% debt to total capitalisation. The project, which has been on hold since 2011, will now have Barrick as operator and 50% stakeholder while 25% will be held by the Balochistan provincial government and 25% by Pakistani state-owned enterpris

Spanish solar developer Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) has refinanced the operational 100MWac Lilyvale Solar Farm in Queensland with debt from a new group of lenders comprising Natixis, Export Development Canada and NordLB. The debt size was undisclosed. Natixis was underwriter, bookrunner, mandated lead arranger, structuring lender, hedging provider, letter of credit provider and green coordinator. EDC and NordLB were MLAs. NordLB was a hedge provider. The asset in the Central Highlands ent

Nepalese renewable energy firm Api Power and GreenZo Energy of India have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop 50MW green hydrogen plants in different parts of Nepal over the next three years. Api Power, which plans to invest Rs10bn (US$125m) in the projects, has proposed building hydrogen projects at its hydro and solar projects at Bardeghat, Chanauta, Kawasoti, Dhalkebar, Parwanipur, Simara and Chandranigahpur, according to reports. Construction of the first plant is scheduled

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and real estate developer Tokyu Land Corporation (TLC) have formed a joint venture, Aomori South Offshore Wind, to develop the Aomori South offshore wind project in northern Japan. A joint project team is leading the development of the project with a goal of joining the auction when the government launches its next round of bidding for offshore wind projects. The shareholders and project team are working in close collaboration with local stakeholders and commun

Keppel Data Centre Fund II (KDCF II) has entered a strategic partnership with Heying, a subsidiary of Tianjin Zhengxin Group of China, to jointly develop a greenfield data centre in Greater Beijing. KDCF II, managed by Alpha Investment Partners, the private fund management arm of Keppel Capital, will acquire a majority stake in Huailai Data Centre for an estimated Rmb1.4bn (US$207.7m). The data centre is in Huailai county, Hebei and is part of a larger data centre campus 65km from central Beijin

China's Trina Solar Co has won a tender to develop a 50MW floating solar PV farm on a hydroelectric reservoir in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. The auction was conducted by Sarawak Energy, a vertically integrated power utility in Sarawak and Malaysia’s largest renewable energy provider. Sarawak’s first large-scale floating PV project, will be located at the Batang Ai hydroelectric plant, which has a reservoir surface of 191.12 hectares.

The New South Wales government expects to pick the battery developer for its 700MW Waratah Super Battery towards the end of this year, according to Felicity Wilson, parliamentary secretary to the treasurer of NSW. “The expressions of interest [round] attracted global interest,” Wilson said during the Clean Energy Council’s Australian Clean Energy Summit 2022. The call for expressions of interest was open until May 2. “A final decision is expected to be made towards the en

Santos has awarded a professional services contract to Worley, which includes delivering a front-end engineering and design (FEED) study, on the Bayu-Undan carbon capture and storage (CCS) project. The CCS project involves repurposing the Bayu-Undan gas field in Timor-Leste waters into a reservoir to store up to 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. The FEED study is for the offshore facilities and pipeline. Worley will also provide FEED services for the life extension of the existing Ba

GMR Airports has issued Rs3.01bn (US$38m) of two-year bonds with a 6% coupon in a private placement. Deutsche Bank was arranger. The notes have a rating of A– from CARE Ratings. The notes are proposed to be listed on the BSE. They mature on June 24 2024. The proposed use of proceeds include paying fees on existing bonds and funding company capital expenditure. In June, the GMR Airports board approved an issue of up to Rs4bn of bonds and restructuring of Rs13.3bn of existing bonds. CARE Rat

Stonepeak Partners and Skip Capital’s Skip Essential Infrastructure Fund (SEIF) have made a conditional, non-binding offer for Genex Power, a renewable energy developer listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. SEIF already owns 19.99% of Genex shares. The offer values Genex at A$319m (US$220m), Reuters reports. The offer is at A$0.23 in cash per Genex share, a 70% premium to the previous closing price of A$0.135 on July 22. Genex has appointed Goldman Sachs and Gilbert + Tobin as advi

Various speakers at the Clean Energy Council’s Australian Clean Energy Summit 2022 last week called for an expansion of the Renewable Energy Target (RET] certificate scheme as well as for similar certificate schemes to boost investment in the green hydrogen and energy storage sectors. The RET scheme, administered by the federal Clean Energy Regulator, ends in 2030. It involves renewables generators receiving certificates for each MWh produced, with the certificates purchased by energy reta

Swancor Renewable Energy (SRE) and local companies J&V Energy Technology, Yeong Guan Group, and Tien Li Offshore Wind Technology have formed a national offshore wind team to build Taiwan’s own supply chain, according to local reports. SRE, which reportedly initiated the idea, hopes to “consolidate local supply chains and cultivate a wind farm development team that is truly local", SRE chair Lucas Lin told the media. "Having been in the industry for 10 years, SRE is the only offsh

Spanish bank Santander is in the process of securing roughly €500m (US$507m) to lend to renewables projects in Brazil. The lender has approached the European Investment Bank (EIB) for a €300m financing as part of the plans, which will focus on lending to the solar sector. Santander will act as a financial intermediary for the financing and will be required to take all the requisite measures to ensure that the procurement procedures are carried out in accordance with the EIB’s pro

The Fiji government has launched a call for expressions of interest in an affordable housing PPP. The private sector partner will have a concession to develop, finance and maintain about 3,000 affordable housing units in the Central and Western divisions of Fiji. International Finance Corp (IFC) is the government’s lead transaction adviser. EoIs are due by September 16. Fiji’s Ministry of Economy has identified six sites on the main island of Viti Levu in Raiwaqa, Nepani, Wainibuku,

TotalEnergies has launched the first phase of the front-end engineering and design (FEED) studies on the upstream production facilities of the Papua LNG project. The integrated FEED is due to commence in Q4, bringing together the downstream infrastructure FEED studies. A final investment decision (FID) is due at the end of 2023 and project start-up at the end of 2027. The 5.6m-tonnes-per-year scheme will have two trains onshore, served by the Elk and Antelope onshore gas fields via pipeline. Pa

Texas-based renewables developer Proteus Power has started developing three solar projects in Alberta with a total capacity of 234MW. The projects will be co-located with 97MW of battery storage. Proteus is evaluating more than 30 additional projects in Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Alberta. The company is focused on projects that are strategically placed to secure long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) with corporate or industrial (C&I) offtakers. The company l

A consortium of US energy investor EIG and Belgian gas group Fluxys known as Condor Energy has closed a US$700m debt financing backing their acquisition of an 80% stake in the GNL Quintero LNG regasification project at Quintero Bay. The purchase of the project from Enagas and OMERS has closed. The debt facility has a seven-year tenor. Joint lead arrangers and bookrunners on the deal include BNP Paribas, MUFG, Banco Santander, and Scotiabank, with mandated lead arrangers Credit Agricole and ING a

Russia’s state corporation Rosatom, through its wind power division Nova Wind, and Vietnam's An Xuan Energy have agreed to develop a 128MW wind farm in Son La province in Vietnam. The two parties have signed an agreement on cooperation in wind energy, Rosatom said in a statement. "We have accumulated extensive experience as a developer of wind power projects in Russia and are ready to apply our competencies abroad. Rosatom is already implementing a number of projects in Vietnam in the fiel

The Philippine Board of Investments (BOI) has given its approval to a 40.4MW Ps2bn (US$35.7m) Naga solar power plant project being developed by PAVI Green Renewable Energy, a subsidiary of Prime Asset Ventures, part of the Villar Group. This means the Naga solar project will be able to enjoy certain incentives such as a tax holiday for a number of years. The project, located in Naga City, Camariñes Sur in the Bicol region, is one of the selected projects in the maiden 2GW auction for rene

Thai Connectivity Terminal (TCT) has been selected as the partner of Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) in a Bt3.22bn (US$87.7m) public-private partnership deal to manage and improve the Map Ta Phut Industrial Port in Rayong province, Thailand. The Thai cabinet has given its approval to the 30-year concession awarded to TCT, which will take over from September 16, the day the concession of the current operator expires. TCT has pledged to invest Bt2.25bn to upgrade the port and operat

Orsted has appointed HSBC as financial adviser on the sale of its stake in the Changhua 2B and Changhua 3 offshore wind farms (OWFs), which have a combined capacity of 907MW. Orsted won the sites in the 2018 auction – 337.1MW at NT$2.548/kWh (US$0.08526/kWh) on its Southwest Greater Changhua project (Changhua 2B) and 582.9MW at NT$2.5481 (US$0.08527)/kWh on its Northwest Greater Changhua scheme (Changhua 3). HSBC is leading the debt financing and is understood to have commenced market soun

Nefin Group has signed an agreement with Solarlink Energy to cooperate on a large-scale solar project in Taixi, Yunlin. "Solarlink's solar development experience and strong local relationships will be crucial for this project's success," said Ken Ng, CIO of Nefin. He said that combining Solarlink's strengths with Nefin's financial backing and solar technical capabilities has created a combination that has potential in the area. Nefin, which is funded by AC Energy, has installed more than 3GW of

Export-Import Bank of Korea (Kexim) has nominated Yoon Hee-sung, its former vice-chairman, to become Kexim’s 22nd president, according to local media. This is apparently the first time in Kexim’s history that a person from within the bank has been nominated as president. The country’s president appoints the bank’s head after a proposal of appointment by South Korea’s minister of economy and finance.

The Philippines’ Department of Energy (DOE) has released the winning bid details of projects selected in the country’s first 2GW auction under the Green Energy Auction Program (GEAP) held in June. Among the winning wind projects, Amihan Renewable Energy Corp, which is 80% owned by ACEN Corp, offered the lowest rate at Ps3.8583 (US$0.0696) per kilowatt hour for its 70MW plant. This was followed by Solar Philippines Calatagan Corp’s offer of 30MW at Ps4.1998.kWh; Bayog Wind Power

Telecom Argentina has received a US$184.5m loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to fund the group’s expansion of its 4G/4.5G and FTTP/B (fibre-to-the-premise/block) fixed broadband coverage, and to upgrade the existing network’s capacity, speed, and energy efficiency. The loan has a seven-year tenor. Access to financing in Argentina has been challenging of late, with international money hard to come by due to perennial financial issues on the home front. Through this

President Alberto Fernandez has launched an infrastructure programme known as “Argentina Grande” as he looks to revive the country’s economy. There could be as many as 979 projects in the programme across a range of sectors including transportation, sanitation, and rural infrastructure, with 120 major projects as part of a first wave of announcements. Overall works will require some US$9bn. The government has so far launched the first seven works. Of the total, 48 ​​are road in

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has unveiled two potential wind energy areas (WEA) in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and is seeking public comment on the sites. The first draft WEA is located approximately 24 nautical miles off the coast of Galveston, Texas. The area for review totals 546,645 acres and has the potential to power 2.3m homes with clean wind energy. The second draft WEA is located approximately 56nm off the coast of Lake Charles, Louisiana. The

The project finance loan market jumped in the first half of this year, helped by impressive deal flow in the US LNG and European fibre markets. As expected, the project bond market fell back – although not as far as it might have given the dearth of bond deals across the global debt capital markets. Commercial bank liquidity does not seem to be suffering right now. The question in the second half is whether this liquidity will ebb away as well, although currently there is little sign of it. What is uncertain is the impact of inflation on new greenfield projects.

The US has charged that Mexico’s energy policies violate the recently signed USMCA North American free-trade deal and has requested dispute settlement talks as the saga of the local power and energy sector rolls on. The consultations relate to measures taken by Mexico that the US Trade Representative argues undermine American companies in Mexico and US-produced energy in favour of Mexican state-owned power utility Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE) and oil firm Petroleos Mexicanos (Pem

The Colombian government will finance a series of feasibility studies for 10 green and blue hydrogen projects as it looks to get behind the burgeoning sector. The project companies will receive funding from a Ps6.5bn (US$1.5m) pool to complete the assessments. Nine companies proposed the 10 projects, including Vatia, Busscar de Colombia, Energal BioGas, Solenium, H2Nostrum, H2 Ande, TE H2, Sociedad De Gestion Grupo TW Solar Colombia, and Universidad de Antioquia. The funds will back the pre-inv

Special purpose vehicle Portion has closed a R$1.25bn (US$264m) public bond deal refinancing debt and financing apex plans at the Portion Container Terminal in Navigates, Santa Katrina. Abrades, Attainder, Bunco Tau, and Bunco ABC Basil were bournes on the deal, which has 10-year maturity and pricing with a floating rate. All up, the sponsors are looking to invest R$5bn in upgrades to the site. Terminal Invest and MC Mediterranean Shipping are the main sponsors behind the project. Macao Meyer wa

The PJM Interconnection has presented its initial analysis of 80 proposals submitted to provide transmission for New Jersey’s offshore wind generation at a special session of the Transmission Expansion Advisory Committee. The projects will require at least US$1.7bn, though investments could be as high as US$7bn. PJM and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) are collaborating on a planning and solicitation process to deliver transmission links to the state’s offshore wind f

Australian group Macquarie Asset Management through Macquarie Infrastructure Partners V (MIP V) has entered into an agreement to invest R$500m (US$92.4m) in port terminal operator Corredor Logistica e Infraestructura (CLI) at the port of Itaqui. MIP V’s investment in CLI will be via a primary issuance and after closing, MIP V will hold a 50% co-control stake alongside CLI’s current owners, funds managed by private equity manager IG4 Capital. In addition to its 50% voting stake, MIP V

Canada-listed Lundin Gold has started a near mine exploration programme at its Fruta del Norte gold mine in south-east Ecuador. The 2022 programme includes drilling over 6,000m looking for opportunities to expand mining operations at the property. The company’s near mine programme will focus on targets within and around the existing operation and explore sectors in the continuities of the deposit and along the extension of major structures, Lundin said in a statement. Fruta del Norte came

Canada-based G Mining Ventures Corporation (GMIN) has closed two tranches totalling US$325m of a multi-tranche US$481m project financing backing the Tocantinzinho gold project in Para. The first two tranches closed include a US$250m gold stream deal and US$75m secured term loan from Franco-Nevada Corporation. The gold stream is for 12.5% of gold produced until 300,000 ounces have been delivered and 7.5% thereafter. The US$250m will be available for draw-down after GMIN has spent at least US$95m

A new amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would prohibit offshore vessels, including those working in the offshore wind or oil and gas sectors, from having multinational crews – in yet another blindside to the offshore wind industry in the US on the shipping front. The amendment, which has so far passed the House but not the Senate, will require crews on offshore international construction vessels to match the flag of the vessel, or be citizens or permanent residents

All Refinitiv websites use cookies to improve your online experience. They were placed on your computer when you launched this website. You can change your cookie settings through your browser.Privacy Statement Cookie Policy