X-Elio bags €89M and Encavis raises €203M for Spanish projects; Encavis breaks ground on German project & says in talks with KKR; Sonnedix acquires 49 MW solar in Portugal; Banca March & Alantra sign deal for 1.8 GW solar; Iberdrola to acquire remaining stake in US subsidiary.
€89 million for Spanish projects: Spanish renewable energy developer X-Elio has achieved an €89 million financing deal with Societe Generale to develop and construct several solar projects in Spain. The 3 key projects to benefit from this deal have a combined 123 MW capacity. This comprises an operational plant in Almeria. The 2 remaining power plants are both under construction and located in Murcia and Granada regions.
Refinancing for Spanish parks: German renewable energy producer Encavis AG has signed project financing agreements for €203 million for its 300 MW Talayuela and 200 MW La Cabrera Solar Plants in Spain. Both these operational projects were commissioned without state subsidies. The refinancing has been achieved with 4 international banks, namely Netherlands’s ABN AMRO and Coöperatieve Rabobank, Spain’s Bankinter and German-UK entity NatWest Bank Europe GmbH. Encavis CFO and Spokesman of the Management Board Christoph Husmann said, “This non-recourse refinancing facility is further evidence to the market that we are actively managing our existing financing exposure to optimize financing costs and to benefit from enhanced debt sizing terms as well as streamlined financing structures for the ongoing operational management.”
Germany’s 2nd largest solar park: Back home in Germany, Encavis has started the construction of a 260 MW solar power plant calling it the 2nd largest solar park in Germany. The project in the Municipality of Bartow is being executed by Encavis subsidiary Encavis Asset Management for the Encavis Infrastructure Fund IV (EIF-IV). Construction will be completed in 2 phases. It is expected to be commissioned in the summer of 2025 when it will generate around 270,000 MWh annually. The company said EIF-IV is exclusively offered by BayernLB and is currently open to investments after close to 50% of its target size was allocated.
Meanwhile, the company says it is in talks with the US-based investment management company KKR with regards to interest in a potential transaction. It did not share any details.
49 MW changes hands in Portugal: UK-based Sonnedix has acquired 49 MW solar PV capacity in the form of 4 operational assets in Portugal from Cubico Sustainable Investments. Located in Southern Portugal’s Evora, Setubal and Faro regions, these projects are backed by the feed-in-tariffs (FIT) scheme of the Portuguese government. Sonnedix’s Head of Growth for Southern Europe Mario Volpe said, “This operational acquisition represents a step change in Sonnedix’s activity in the Portuguese market to date, delivering immediate operational capacity and secure, visible revenues via the feed in tariff scheme.”
€50 million for 1.8 GW PV vehicle: Spanish investment bank Banca March and renewable energy asset manager Alantra Solar have launched a co-investment platform called March SolEnergy FCRE SA to develop a 1.8 GW solar portfolio. Alantra Solar is an investment vehicle formed by Alantra and Solarig. Most of this 1.8 GW capacity, that represents 40 solar projects, will be hybridized with battery storage in Italy and Spain. The bank has committed €50 million to the platform along with its clients. They will participate in the platform through a European Venture Capital Fund (VCF) in the form of a public limited company, parallel to the vehicle structured by Alantra, and will join strategic investors Reichmuth Infrastructure and Amundi Energy Transition.
These vehicles will invest in the capital of N-Sun Energy that will gradually acquire this capacity of more than 40 PV plants. While 70% of this capacity is located in Italy, the remaining 30% projects are planned for Spain. Solarig has developed this portfolio and the latest plants are expected to reach ready-to-build (RTB) status before the end of 2025. The investment platform is expected to invest a total of €1.7 billion out of which €700 million will be equity and remaining €1 billion debt.
Spanish firm wants whole of US subsidiary: Spanish energy company Iberdrola plans to acquire the remaining 18.4% stake in its US-based networks and renewables subsidiary Avangrid. The company already owns 81.6% stake in Avangrid that owns and operates a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities across the US. Avangrid is also into the electric and natural gas business. Iberdrola is offering $34.25/share, representing a premium of approximately 10% compared to the weighted average share price of the last 30 days. This represents an investment of $2.48 billion for Iberdrola, about €2.28 billion at the current exchange rate. Iberdrola says, “The objective of this transaction is to increase exposure to the networks business in the United States at a key time for Iberdrola, which wants to grow in markets with high credit ratings and in regulated businesses such as networks.”
